Both of her, Both of him, Both of them
by sd1970x
Summary: One day Gecko appears, and nothing is ever going to be the same again for Ladybug. She might need to cast aside everything she thought about teamwork, relationships and what it means to be a miraculous holder. What's going to happen between her and her partner now? What's that strange new superheroine hiding behind her mask?
1. Yamori

It was just a regular workday. That's exactly what it was. He was a normal boy with a normal life, even if other people have their kind of a normal life. His simply involved working in construction at high height.

Hamad still went with that pointless, mock helmet-placing gesture. It helped him feel better for some reason, despite having no real helmet to go with it. The strapping point part, that he couldn't even play-pretend. At least he knew one was supposed to exist, just like the railings that were meant to prevent him from falling. While these actually did exist occasionally, their reliability has left him wondering more than once. Would they stop him if a moment of truth came? He'd rather not think about that one at all.

The other thing he would have rather not thought about, but couldn't get out of his head, was that he finally knew why all of that was happening. That day when he saw the money change hands, out in the clear… and they didn't even care he saw it!

No one would have believed him or any of his co-workers. That much felt almost like a universal truth. He was in a foul mood just thinking about it, and thus escapism drew its lure again. His favorite choice of escapism? Taking a sneak peek at the view of Paris from the 20th floor he's working at.

The clear sky and the look of the Eiffel tower brought about some comfort. He imagined the smell of a home-cooked meal on the stove, the warmth of a family that would definitely dwell here in two or three years, with someone living a perfectly happy normal life here.

"Hey, get back to work!" He heard the voice of his superintendent, as the smell of soup made way in favor of the acrid smell of cement that needed mixing, of dust particles filling the air, of planks lying about and steel rebar being welded. The view was not his to enjoy, he remembered now.

He quickly tucked the smell of soup into a deep corner of his heart before returning to mixing the cement again in numbing, repetitive motions, a blank look on his face.

Light shone on Hawk Moth's lair as its window expanded, triggering a fluttering of the numerous butterflies waiting for their turn. An almost inaudible flap, like bristling of leaves, mixed with the pacing of shoe soles against a concrete floor.

He stopped and relished that negative feeling he was picking up. At first, it tasted like apathy of the bland and boring kind. But upon further inspection, a lacing of venom appeared. At first a trace, and then a mouthful. Like popping a caviar egg to salty goodness. And he, Hawk Moth, would be the one to help that spread its wings in the most spectacular fashion. A piece of art, indeed.

"Those who are numb of fearing for their lives may yet hold the most emotions of all, simply waiting to be unleashed." His voice intoned it as if an onlooker was there. Occasionally Nathalie would be there to listen to him. Not this time, though. He kept the habit nonetheless as it greatly entertained him.

"Go forth, my Akuma, and help him realize his burning desire for justice."

He called his power as he infused the butterfly with dark energy and sent it off towards its target, A look of appreciation following its trail. He turned around and rubbed his hands together, anxious for the butterfly to make rapport again, small shivers of delight passing through his body in anticipation of the conversation he was about to hold.

Hamad noted his superintendent was missing again. He always felt short-changed for his hard work, so stealing yet another glimpse of the view made him feel no remorse. He couldn't see the Akuma butterfly casually making the slow ascent towards him, as his foot hit the smallest of bumps on the concrete floor. Losing balance, he quickly grabbed at the railing, only for the thing to crack.

Looks like it couldn't hold him after all.

He felt the acceleration, the rush of wind as he spun downwards, the resistance of air building up against his momentum.

He dreamed this would happen one day, and that day now came. He closed his eyes and braced for the impact.

But then, a firm grip caught him and he heard the 'twang' sound of a yo-yo string. That wasn't a part of his dream, but from that day onward he'd embrace that and never let go. He felt his descent slowing down gently as he opened his eyes to find himself in the hands of a certain red-clad superheroine.  
But then, he felt another thing. A pair of greyish-blue eyes prying into his very soul. A warm male voice soothed into his mind.

" _Mixalot_ , I am Hawk Moth. Isn't it time someone mixed the cruel reality of construction safety with the serene reality of otherwise blissful Parisians?"

He uttered a soft, barely audible "yes" before he felt a rush of power, and then nothing.

Ladybug watched in horror as the person she was holding quickly got engulfed in black-purple mist and sent an indiscernible appendage towards her earrings, before even completing the transformation.

She cocked her head to evade his grab and tried to push herself away. Her yo-yo got tangled and she barely made it, a few meters above ground, only to fall a second later. Only lightly beaten, Ladybug found herself facing an unharmed Akumatized victim at a disadvantaged reclined position. Her mind tried to assess the situation as quickly as feasible. The thing in front of her was similar to Stoneheart to an extent but made more of concrete plates and protruding steel rebar. His shoulder was composed of a steel beam and his second hand was now a jet hole spouting cement mixture. The ground shook a little with every step he took, combined with earth-shattering noise and the smell of wet cement. The iron scaffolding around her looked like that creature's preferred home turf to pick a fight on.

She felt two quick bursts of viscous cement hitting both of her arms, pinning her to the ground. Given enough time she would have been able to move her joints and recover, but this was time she simply didn't have, as Mixalot charged for a much larger shot of cement, one aimed straight at her face.  
 _He's going to choke me and knock me out._

Ladybug braced herself for the impact as much as she could given her situation.

"Ladybug, watch out!" A female voice called at her.

The source of the voice suddenly appeared between her and Mixalot. Not slowly or gradually, but as if she had always been there. As if she materialized or decloaked at this exact point in space, by a feat of magic or miracle. She was rapidly rotating what looked to be some sorts of a hoop, with four spokes completing a cross form inside. Ladybug could only see her back, clad in a bright cyan bodysuit, a long and wavy honey-colored hair running up until the waist.  
 _Is she… a new superheroine?_

The cement shot sprayed in all directions as it encountered the rapidly spinning hoop. The smell of cement intensified considerably as she felt the touch of a few errant mixture drops collecting at her suit.

"Quick, run away!" that same voice quickly returned her to the reality on ground. An Akuma battle was not a good time to properly reconcile such news.

Instinctively responding to the cry she took advantage of the opening to dart to safety, and only then allowed herself a moment of composed thought.

 _How can there be a new superheroine?_

Any more than that would probably take a lot more focus out of the problem at hand.

Ladybug watched the cyan-clad superheroine engaging Mixalot, trying an attack by rotating her hoop angled above her head and extending it.

 _So her hoop extends and contracts, similar to Chat's baton. That's an odd weapon to wield._

Being experienced, she could foresee the inefficiency of that move and indeed, all it took Mixalot was a plain crouch to evade the attack. She could also guess what would come next, Mixalot firing a shot of cement towards her leg. While a short hop backward saved that girl from being hit by the first one, the second one hit her other leg. Now it was Ladybug's turn to return the favor from a moment ago. She grabbed her by the yo-yo and pulled as hard as she could to get her out of harm's way.

She now had a quick frontal view, noting green eyes which mismatched her bright cyan mask and garb. The miniature hexagon pattern on both her mask and bodysuit confirmed her to be a superheroine. Otherwise, her figure was pretty much similar to Ladybug's own, somewhat short and relatively thin.

She watched with concern as the new superheroine ran tried to redo her hoop extending maneuver again, charging forward then jumping backward. Quickly noting her own safety was at risk, she tried to evade the move, but eventually, the only thing stopping her from being hit was the hoop being contracted.

 _This isn't going well. At all._

The sound of her partner's voice gave her hope that this tide would now turn, having little confidence in her ability to work in sync with the newcomer without getting hurt.

"Chat Noir! Thanks for dropping!"

"Hey, _blockhead_ , why don't you _set_ for a bit? I wouldn't want to _cement_ our relationship just yet."

She heard the taunt aimed at Mixalot and for once, the puns were significantly appreciated.

It was easy for her to see just how displeased Mixalot was at being taunted like that, charging towards Chat with careless fury. This should make him easy prey for her competent partner. A nimble flip and a baton strike later, her prediction became true. The concrete spade was pinged out of the akumatized victim's belt, right towards the new superheroine.  
 _Come on… break it!_

The confused look on the newcomer's face wasn't boding well, evoking in Ladybug memories of her own early career.

"Break it!" She cried, only to see Mixalot grab it from the newcomer's hands.

The girl's face twitched as she crouched and lunged forward while spinning her hoop, aiming for the center of mass. Again this resulted in little more than forcing Mixalot to jump and evade it with ease.

 _She's letting her emotions get the better of her…_ _is this her first real fight?_

 _That hoop is also one heck of a weird weapon. I wonder if there are better ways to use it._

She watched Mixalot respond by sending two shots in opposite directions, one towards Chat Noir and the other towards the cyan superheroine. Chat evaded the one aimed at him with ease, while the other shot crashed against the rapidly spinning hoop.

At that moment, the realization that she wasn't being targeted dawned upon Ladybug. Such a rare event did not occur much when fighting as a duo, but having three targets did make for this difference. Not being under any pressure, there was ample opportunity for her to summon an item.

"LUCKY CHARM" She called, presented with an oversized four-way rotating water sprinkler.

 _A water sprinkler? What am I going to do with that?_

As she surveyed her surroundings, she saw her own yo-yo, the construction scaffolding, the extendable hoop, the cement mixture jet hole and the sprinkler.

 _Maybe I can construct something here..._

"Keep him busy! Cyan-girl, On my mark, make sure he can't touch the ground!"

 _Now_ _ **that**_ _would be good use of the hoop, creating a dead-zone which he has to avoid._

She began running around the area, practically weaving a net with her yo-yo's string amongst the scaffolding, as she tossed the sprinkler towards Chat.

"Now!" She cried. Chat lunged towards Mixalot, fitting the sprinkler on the mixture jet hole. At the same time, the cyan superheroine crouched and began to spin her hoop, forcing everyone else above the ground. Mixalot jumped to avoid it and attempted to shoot another cement ball.

The sprinkler rotated very quickly, spraying his eyes and the entire surrounding with cement but more importantly, giving him rotational acceleration which entirely threw off his balance. As she planned, Mixalot now had to choose between landing into the fast-rotating hoop on the ground and clearing the yo-yo string trap, with barely any maneuverability or eyesight available.

Such a feat was beyond his ability and soon enough he found the sprinkler tangling with the yo-yo string, slamming him to the ground and dislodging the concrete spade. This time, it was Chat that grabbed and broke it, releasing the Akuma for Ladybug to capture.

Ladybug whipped her yo-yo and swiftly captured the black butterfly before it could get too far.

"Bye bye little butterfly!"

Ladybug and Chat Noir fist-bumped each other while the new superheroine panted for air. Relieved, she finally turned to address the newcomer.

"Hey… thanks for the save. That was very brave of you. But you really took a great risk appearing out of nowhere like this." Her gratitude was inherently mixed with the difficulties the unexpected fight posed. This certainly wasn't the preferred way to make an acquaintanceship.

"Th-thanks."

She noted the girl was still panting for air, placing her hoop on her back and having it just fit there, as if by magic. She asked Chat to tend to the poor overwhelmed construction worker so she could exchange a few words with the newcomer.

"I have to tell you that we are used to fighting in tandem and we change our tactics when there's a third superhero.״

She paused to observe how the newcomer would react. However, that girl appeared to be still busy reorienting herself.

"You'd have to get some training and match the tactics. Um. What should we call you?"

She wanted to have a name, at least.

"Call me… Yamori. or Gecko, if you prefer that name."

"Okay, Gecko, so… um…"

 _Yeah, now what exactly?_

She stood there thinking where all this was leading. Then Gecko spoke.

"Well, since that happened… shouldn't I be joining you?"

She stared at Gecko and suddenly she felt disoriented by the upheaval these simple words caused.

 _It's simple, isn't it? And yet it's anything_ _ **but**_ _simple!_

 _I mean, we don't work with Rena or Carapace or Queen Bee on a regular basis. We don't need to! And if we did have such a need… I'd like to have Alya as my partner, wouldn't I?_

 _And then again… she_ _ **is**_ _here. How could we_ _ **not**_ _make use of a new superheroine offering her help?_

 _But… don't the people of Paris deserve the most efficient combination to safeguard them?_

 _And who's to say what that would be? Or that my own personal preferences aren't interfering with my thoughts regarding it?_

Her head spun, she opted to consult with her partner.

"Ok, Gecko. before we rush into this, or anything of kind… I'd like to have a moment with Chat in private. There are decisions us two need to make."

She and chat stepped aside to discuss as Gecko nodded her approval.

"So, what do you think, Chat?" she whispered to her partner, hoping to get him involved and perhaps mitigate what seemed to be a growing burden on her.

"I say, We already have a yo-yo and a baton. Do we really need a _third wheel_ -"

 _No no no. keep your humor to other times!_

He deserved a good stepping on his leg for that one, and he yelped as she did. His face twisted in pain.

"Chat, That was terrible! Akumatize-her-terrible! She didn't appear here just to have us mock her like that, she clearly looks up to us!" She chided him, then paused and sighed, deflated.

"You're right though, Chat. We don't actually have a need for someone else, much less a rookie. Then again, if we don't train her, she will forever be a rookie. We also can't call her on demand as we do with Rena and Carapace."

A quick glance at Chat showed him having a more serious and contemplative look. She finally got him where she needed him to be at this moment.

"Sorry about the pun. for what it's worth, I felt almost as bad making it. With regards to Gecko, you call it. I'm actually happy to be second in command right now."

 _So, payback for that comment at the puppeteer incident, huh?_

 _But he did apologize for the pun. And he trusts me._

She noted his smile and loosened up a bit. The thought he trusted her judgement on this very big question with important ramifications, made her feel a bit more at ease.

"I guess honesty would be the right thing with… wait, what did you just say? That I'm her commander?"

She balked at the suggestion, but the Cat went on.

"Looks like you got yourself a trainee. I'm sure you can handle it."

She felt a pat on her back and couldn't tell if it's out of support, out of gloating at her predicament or a bit of both.

Either way, her sense of responsibility made the distinction moot as she focused on making progress towards a decision.

 _Sincerity is key. I will not lie to her. For it to have any chance of working out, I must trust her and she must trust me._

She and Chat turned back to her, looking at Gecko who caught up her breath by now and seemed to be anticipating what they had to say.

Ladybug broke the silence.

"Here's the situation, Gecko. Me and Chat Noir are a team. Other miraculous holders serve as backup. That's how it has been so far and I just don't see it changing."

She paused for a moment to check how Gecko responded to that, but she couldn't quite discern it yet, so she went on.

"But… we would really appreciate a reduction of the workload. You will patrol alone while one of us will be on standby. once a week your patrol will be with me and once with Chat Noir, as we can't have you stay a rookie forever. I'll also supervise your training. Let's meet here in two hours to check out your skills, as I need to recharge. We have a lot more talking to do, too."

There was an awkward silence. She eyed Gecko, trying to guess her thoughts from her expression yet again.

 _How is she going to take it? Will she be disappointed?_

She then noted a small smile slowly crept to Gecko's face as she heard her answer.

"I would expect nothing less than such wise words from you." Gecko bowed her head and followed it with a hand motion. "I'm happy to serve under your guidance."

 _Wait… Serve under my guidance? Oh my god, what exactly have I gotten myself into?_


	2. A half of a more complete whole

A/N:

Just the kind reminder to review, I really do need those to get better at this and prevent it from being a repeat of my previous attempt.

And now i'll move over and let you keep reading.

Marinette de-transformed at her balcony and went down the hatch to her room, allowing herself to fall backward onto her recamier. This was a habit of hers when she needed to work her thoughts out. Her eyes glanced over her room as she considered going over to her computer and maybe searching the internet on similar experiences.

 _Yeah, I'm just going to google about superheroine leadership articles. Great thinking there._

But then, a little red crimson head popped out of her purse as her Kwami zipped out fully.

 _Better than the internet and a lot friendlier. She should know._

She saw Tikki examining her expression. She'd have to start talking now.

"Tikki… I have a subordinate! A superheroine subordinate!"

Hearing the sound of that word in her own voice seemed weird and alien to her.

 _Subordinate, huh… but what other word could fit here? And why am I so bothered by it?_

She watched Tikki at her left as she flew over her from side to side with a wide grin. Marinette felt the comforting touch of her Kwami nuzzling her cheek. She couldn't help but smile a bit.

"Congratulations, commander Marinette! Isn't it good?"

And just like that, her smile faded again. She changed her position to a cross-legged sitting one and winced at the new title.

"No! It's not good!" She spat out, feeling her frustration through every word, throwing her hands up in the air. "It's a lot more responsibility! What if something happens to her? What if something happens to her because of _me_?"

She found Tikki moving in front of her, antennae rising up as she neared her face.

"Marinette… being in command is not new to Ladybugs. You won't be the first and certainly not the last. Ladybugs used to command whole armies!"

 _She's giving me the past Ladybugs routine…_

"I'm not leading an army, Tikki. I'm leading one superheroine and to be honest, even that seems like something I could mess up."

 _Surely I could do without more complications in my life, but this one just appeared out of nowhere, quite literally in this case..._

"Haven't your personal friends been at risk, more than once?"

 _Point taken… and yet..._

"It's still different," She said, "They didn't knowingly and willingly put their trust in me."

"What about Rena Rouge or Carapace? You've led them. They're your friends."

She looked at Tikki trying to reassure her. One moment or another she'll have to concede to that. But she still drew it as much as she could.

" **Still** not the same… she's a 'full-time' superheroine. I didn't give her the miraculous. I call Rena and Carapace, they come and go. They can even refuse the call if they want to."

She sighed.

"I think you got this one right, Marinette." Tikki grinned. "You'll do great."

 _Was that a test? No, Tikki wasn't testing_ _ **me**_ _… just helping me figure it out!_

 _So now I have her vote of confidence… but there's still so much work down the road..._

 _my form of leadership is something I'll have to trailblaze myself._

She let out a sigh of relief and allowed herself a small smile back again.

With that temporarily behind them, Marinette now looked at Tikki bouncing up and down and twirling with excitement.

 _Well, she'd obviously be excited about other things..._

"What's her Kwami like? The birth of a Kwami is a very rare event indeed. Tell me all about this superheroine!"

She could definitely relate to her Kwami's excitement, one that took some hold of herself as well. It was a big deal indeed, one that she overlooked due to the new complications it foisted on her.

"So, She calls herself Gecko and I haven't had the chance to ask her about her Kwami."

"Guess that would make him the Gecko Kwami."

Marinette nodded.

"I already know she can become invisible and that she fights with a hoop. That thing is strange! Is this a weapon at all?"

"Is a yo-yo a weapon?"

"Point taken… so that's pretty much it, for now. But I'll be meeting her soon enough again, after a little recharge."

She watched Tikki listening to her words with as much intent as she had ever seen her.

"Please write as much as you can down for Master Fu. And keep an eye over her, an unknown miraculous in the hands of Hawk Moth could turn out to be a very nasty surprise, as could be an Akumatized Gecko."

Ladybug reached the rendezvous point at the same time as Chat Noir did. They chose a wide and clear roof as their practice area.

"Almost like a sports field, a small superhero arena." Chat quipped at the sight.

Gecko was already there when they arrived, her attention on some kind of paper or a letter she was reading with significant intent, such that she barely noticed them. No sooner than she did though, she folded it neatly and very carefully into one of her pockets and turned towards them.

Gecko reached her right arm backward and the hoop extended itself until it met her grip. She pulled it in front of her and assumed a starting position.

"Here I go, commander!"

Ladybug looked at Gecko trying to demonstrate whatever moves she had already considered for her hoop, as she heard Chat's voice.

"Well then milady, shall we watch the show?" She heard his chuckle.

 _It's a good thing he's so optimistic about it… because I'm still so concerned myself!_

She looked into his eyes as he sat next to her.

"Chat… are you sure you're okay with this? I know that joke about me being in command but…"

She felt him take his hand as he stopped her.

"I meant that one, Milady. We're the cat and bug team. What we have together… is more than this."

"Even if our patrols won't be just the two of us anymore? That's the time we have for… us."

 _Why… why does this mean so much to me, all of a sudden?_ An unexpected welling up of an undetermined emotion. As if she felt something sacred to both of them was disrupted.

"You know, Seeing her is just reminding me of things I've already learned to take for granted. Our trust, our ability to work in sync…"

 _What's that slight tingling feeling on my cheeks?_ Ladybug asked herself, failing to admit to her light blush. Apparently he didn't notice it either.

"That's the 'us' you may have been looking for, Milady."

Gecko's move broke Ladybug's concentration at the conversation. She went for a backflip move similar to the one she tried with Mixalot, but miscalculated her landing position as she tried to keep spinning the hoop.

 _That move could never work properly,_ Ladybug thought. Yet Gecko tried that one again without success.

Ladybug observed her, as Chat went on.

"Look at her. she reminds me of the day we met. Clumsy bug, a brash cat… Remember how I messed up that cataclysm?"

They shared a laugh at that one.

"Oh, and the puns. Way too much. It's quality instead of quantity today."

She couldn't help but make a face at that one, yet eventually laughed again.

 _Wow, Chat admitting having made too many puns. But… why exactly?_

The thought was interrupted by Chat continuing, Ladybug just blinked at him.

 _Not going to spoil that moment. No way._

"Back then, I thought… this is how a superhero should act like. But now our partnership is a better expression of that. That's Chat Noir now. A half of a more complete whole."

Ladybug's cheeks now burned with red. It was true. The brash, pun-making, easily-distracted Chat made its way to a trusty partner that saved her more times she could count. No more toothy grins whenever he found himself poised above her in an embarrassing position, or had a chance to hint they'd be stuck together forever. Childish charms made way to a lot more responsible behavior, but his love clearly stayed. One that she took a bit of time to truly recognize for what it was, up until that day at Andre's ice cream.

Given that the change was so gradual, she never did have time or perspective to fully reminisce on it. If it wasn't for Adrien, wouldn't she have…?

She wasn't sure.

She felt a slight pang through her heart. Looking back at Gecko, she pushed those thoughts away.

"But… Chat... we are the Cat and the Bug team. And now we also have… I'm not even sure what to call her, a fan?"

She watched him jerk to that statement as if a string was pulled. As if his whole body was protesting it.

"No, Milady. I… uhh… have some experience with fandom. This girl…"

He paused and corrected himself.

"This _superheroine_ , when you do really become her commander… she'll follow you through fire and water."

It wasn't the first time this realization seeped into her mind, but the way Chat put it made things clearer for her.

"It's personal admiration and respect that no fandom can bring upon. You will play a role in what kind of a superheroine she ends up being."

 _That's… so, so sweet of you, Chat. Here I was, afraid of how you'd take it... and instead, you manage to uplift my spirit._

All of a sudden, He felt the touch of Ladybug's lips against his forehead.

"Thanks, Chaton. I really needed that. Your vote of confidence... It means so much to me."

Now his cheeks burned with red too. They looked at each other, a bit embarrassed now, quickly switching their attention back to Gecko.

Ladybug refocused and started to analyze Gecko's moves with intent. The all-around expanding nature of her hoop made a lot of the maneuvers risky to the surroundings, which made teamwork all the more challenging.

Then again, it could be useful in areas crowded with enemies, or against ones that can't easily jump. Both she and Chat could easily ascend to a high position as needed. She whipped out her yo-yo to tablet mode and started sketching ideas.

 _Yeah, that could work. I'm going to design her moves. It's like an open canvas._

A strange excitement brushed over her as she entered a creative concentration, drawing and designing. After a few minutes though, she noticed Chat looking at her with similar intent, his mouth open in a little 'o' shape.

"Chat?"

She saw him break out of his concentration too.

"Milady… are you... an artist by chance?"

She smiled almost instinctively.

"What makes you say that?"

"Your pen strokes. I've seen such graceful movements whe-... actually, nevermind."

"Maybe one day, Chat."

She realized they were both treading an unsafe area of private life and returned to the matter at hand.

"So, um, What do you think?"

She showed him some of the moves and he nodded vigorously.

"That's… amazing, Ladybug. Guess it shows how many Akumas we've defeated by now."

"Gecko, would you come over?"

All three of them huddled over her yo-yo to take a look.

"So, I noticed all your attacks are about pushing the enemy away or having him run into the spinning hoop. Have you considered contracting the hoop over them?"

Gecko tilted her head in thought."Can you show me an example?"

"Sure. May I?" She asked.

Gecko handed her the hoop, looking excited about it. As it quickly became apparent, the excitement was shared by Ladybug in trying a totally new magical weapon. The hoop felt relatively firm to the touch, but there was a slightly padded grip to it. Unlike Chat's baton though, control over expanding and contracting happened mentally. She felt strange sensation of connection to the item.

"Now, would you stand over there please?"

Ladybug jumped while extending the hoop, such that Gecko was now inside its circumference, then contracted it, stopping half a meter short before actually hitting her.

"That's amazing, Ladybug! I'll have to try this myself!

 _And you will, sooner than you think._ She almost smirked as the thought crossed her mind, but still kept a poker face about it.

"Another idea I had is for you to rotate the hoop through you, to protect yourself while mid-air. If you are strong enough going against the natural direction, a strike can dislodge a weapon or divert an attacker. Otherwise, you can still hit their back."

"Which axis would that be? Wait, I think I got this one for myself. A bit like rope-skipping isn't it?"

"Exactly." Ladybug smiled at how fast she picked it up. "You'd have to contract the spokes for that to work, though."

Watching Gecko hop about, she had an improvement come to mind. "If you contract it during the reverse, you can save energy and increase its momentum."

 _It's almost like directing a cartoon or drawing a comic book._

"Another improvement I want you to try is rotating the hoop while it's slanted, so the slant moves as if it wobbles. This clears any blindspot and creates a full defense, but needs more dexterity to pull while maintaining rotational speed."

She saw Gecko having trouble balancing the hoop this way. Two times the hoop spun out of control and a third one hit the floor instead, causing Gecko to lose her balance. After that one, she saw Gecko put her hoop down.

"I'm not sure it can work, Commander."

"You can do it, Gecko. I know you can. Try once more, please."

At the sixth attempt, Gecko finally made it. She saw Gecko smile at her, and she returned in kind.

"Practice makes perfect, you see? You'll have to do it more and more until it feels natural to you."

Gecko turned to try it once more but Ladybug stopped her. "You'll have plenty of time for that, let's try another thing for now."

Gecko nodded at her.

"What's the fastest you can expand your hoop? Given enough open space, this can quickly strike enemies from afar. This one will require you to warn us in advance. Don't use it blindly."

They weren't in the right spot to test that one, but Gecko nodded with tacit approval.

It was time for Ladybug to let that earlier thought loose.

"And now, Chat, it's time to go Gecko hunting."

She could now smirk freely about that one.

Chat quickly picked up on her intent.

"With pleasure, Milady" He grinned.

"What? No!" Gecko cried in surprise and quickly backflipped to avoid his baton.

He saw his lady chuckle at the sight. "Relax, it's practice!" Ladybug called to Gecko. "Didn't you say you wanted to test your new move?"

 _Oh, My lady is so awesome when she lets go like that!_

"But I'm not ready yet!" He heard Gecko protest as she jumped backward to avoid his baton again.

"Nobody's ever ready to get hit by a baton!" He laughed. "But I'll go easy on you."

He went for a slow strike but Gecko crouched and spun her hoop, parrying his blow with the hoop, forcing him to backflip.

 _She's going to extend her hoop now so I can't land._

He predicted her move correctly. She did learn fast enough. But he still had significantly more experience. He extended his baton and placed it horizontally above his head before the backflip. Metal clashed against metal in a clanging sound, Chat bouncing off the hoop to another flip and out of its range.

Now was his turn for another move. He went for a low jump, expecting a spin to push him away. As she did, he changed course to slide under it and tried to strike her in a forwards and upwards motion.

He watched her roll off to the right, evading his move. She passed her hoop behind her back from left to right hand and scored a hit against his side with that momentum.

 _Nice move, Gecko! But you left your own side unprotected._

He quickly returned the blow with one of his own at her left side. This time he didn't expect her move. She flipped the hoop from her right hand to the left, locking Chat inside it and quickly contracting it. He realized she failed to change course though, and braced for impact as they both took a head to head collision.

"Ouch!" They both cried at the surprise head bump and rubbed their foreheads.

He heard the sound of three slow hand claps from his Lady. A quick look showed her approval and excitement."

"Very good, Gecko! You could have actually won this one if you had readied a kick instead of going headstrong."

"So, how'd you like our little show, Milady?" He bowed mockingly.

"You can be entertaining when you want to, Minou." She laughed back at him.

He looked at Gecko to see her experience of the ordeal. She almost collapsed with exhaustion, but her satisfaction at her commander's praise was practically seen for miles away.


	3. Well hello there - Origins

A/N:

Max's really up to the game in this one, Rose is up for a makeover and Alix is up to no good.

Also, a custom order?

(A week earlier / flashback episode)

Max was the first one to think about it and probably the only one, too.

"Mid-year transfer students are strictly against regulations. I don't see any way someone could have pulled this without doing something exceptional." He told Kim and pretty much regretted it immediately, because as much of a friend he was, Kim wasn't really someone to discuss such a thing with.

"Wow, Max. You're such a geek. Now don't get me wrong bud…" Kim punched him gently in the shoulder,"... but all I care for is a nice looking girl. We need some decent eye candy around."

He knew Kim frequently laughed at him for going into such little details, though in a mostly friendly manner. But that guy's head was all sports and girls.

 _He can be so hopeless sometimes... anyway, he's in for a disappointment._

"The name's Natsuru, which is a Japanese unisex name. But this one is a boy, you can chill." He dashed Kim's hopes with helping of cold water and the guy groaned.

"Such an eyesore, I tell you. But here's the thing," Max heard Kim whisper to his ear "that swimming girl I told you about, Ondine? We're going on a date tomorrow!"

He heard Kim's laughter as the guy gave him a yet another friendly punch.

It was then when Max noticed Alix was giving Kim a glaring stare over his whisper.

 _Why'd she do that? Oh well, what these two have is none of my business..._

He then heard Chloe join the conversation.

"Why would anyone want to transfer from classy America to a school infested with losers and Akumas. Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" The blond quipped as she overheard their conversation. "This class certainly doesn't need more people without, well, class".

Max watched as Chloe pulled out a makeup mirror and did some corrections and more-than-some self-adoring. An additional tasteless spraying of perfume made Max wrinkle his nose and turn away in slight revulsion, not regretting avoiding the sight either.

 _Can she be any more self-centered and less self-aware?_

"Maybe the akuma infestation had something to do with you, Chloe?" He heard Alya joining the conversation too.

"Can you try not to cause the immediate akumatization of this one, Chloe? You should have enough 'victory marks' by now." Alix reinforced Alya's point much more bluntly.

 _Things are heating up here..._

"If he comes with a pathetic watch such as yours, it's pretty much inevitable." Max heard Chloe stinging her in return.

 _She isn't the type to let an insult like that go unanswered. I better go get someone to calm it down!_

"I don't know why I bothered draining your life energy. You probably didn't even have 10 seconds of soul-worth on you."

Alix's last taunt was too much for Max to bear. He went to fetch Marinette quickly in hopes she can calm them down.

Marinette quickly came back with Max to de-escalate the heated exchange going on.

"Now, now, please calm down." She gave Chloe a piercing look, which was quickly scoffed at in return. "Alya and Alix picked on me first."

That actually was partially true. She gave them both a reprimanding look but they just shrugged. "Chloe called us all losers with a lack of class, definitely a trigger." Alya deadpanned.

Marinette knew she had to do something while pleasing everyone. This wasn't the ideal way to greet a new student, nor did she feel like having someone akumatized today.

"Look you guys, we look like a cheesy TV highschool. Can we please try not to leave a bad impression?"

 _That did the magic. Almost like a lucky charm._

"Fine, Dupain- _Cheng,_ " Chloe said, crossing her arms and turning away, muttering "I collect different victory points now anyway." There was no apology or "sorry," but as far as Chloe went, it seemed that was as good as it got.

Marinette allowed herself a smile of relief. It felt like a little victory.

Yet, Marinette couldn't help but wonder how long it would be before that new student got akumatized as well.

 _Perhaps someone sent them here to be akumatized?_ A stray paranoid thought wandered into her mind.

Despite Marinette's expectations, she was actually quite relieved to see the whole thing was a lot more underwhelming than she had thought at first. Natsuru turned out to be a rather shy boy with brown eyes and brown hair, his art interests being makeup, clothing and calligraphy. The boy introduced himself by writing his name in French and Kanji on the board, nodded his head and picked his seat.

She watched with slight interest as most of the class tried to socialize with him politely, herself included. While he admitted her designs were top notch, something she couldn't help being mildly flattered by, they weren't his style, and he wasn't as interested in them.

She was much too busy watching Adrien to figure out what exactly didn't click between those two, but they also politely parted ways. Nothing bad but nothing good either.

His talk with Nathaniel turned out to be more interesting. Natsuru asked him if manga was part of his comic drawing repertoire and was noticeably disappointed to get a negative answer.

At that point Marinette started to become concerned that he might not have any friends, and thus was quite happy to see a flowing conversations between him and Max.

He discussed Japanese culture with Max quite a bit as the two really shared the interest. Max being an avid fan and Natsuru seemingly craving it for preoccupation with his own ancestry. They compared shows and genres, discussed cultural mannerisms and more.

Another connection that proved to be strong was between Natsuru and Juleka.

Her taste towards gothic-style clothing and makeup really struck a chord with Natsuru. It looked as if her mumbling wasn't getting in the way of their instant connection and they chatted rather freely and even exchanged hesitant smiles.

A slight fear crept to Marinette when she saw that. _How would he react to Juleka and Rose being a couple? Will we see a heartbreak akumatization?_

She was extremely relieved to see that he picked up on Juleka and Rose's relationship.

 _At least someone wasn't oblivious in this class,_ she thought, happy to clear the offending scenario off her mind. _One less thing to worry about. 2-3 friends is fair enough, he'll make it here._

She made a mental note to exchange a few words with both Max and Juleka about it, just to be on the safe side. As far as the class rep was concerned, this was a success and she likely won't have much to do with that anymore once things settle. She had plenty to do on her own than having to focus on a new transfer student.

"Our class rep, always on the watch. That's so caring of you." she heard a familiar voice next to her, and turned to face Adrien, flustered.

"Y-you think?"

"I'm sure." She saw his face beaming. "With you around, this class is in good hands, you really have us in your mind."

"I always have **you** in my mind! I mean not **you** you… I mean you too of course but…"

 _Augh! Have some self-control, Marinette!_

A slight pat on the back later, Marinette temporarily lost her ability of reason.

"Thanks, Marinette. It's good that you have our back." Adrien smiled at her as he left.

Max hurried to the computer lab during the next recess. His scripts had collected plenty of PDF files by now for him to look at. Max started wading through the stash and noticed immediately it was a highly suspicious transfer, as he anticipated. Expedited requests and intervention of high-ranking education officers who weren't supposed to handle such a matter.

What on earth was this about? What would be so special about _their_ school that would warrant all this brouhaha? True, it did have some reputation in the field of arts. Nothing of the sort that would even remotely justify this kind of papertrail. Worse still, notary translations cost money which was apparently not spared in the effort.

 _Highly and totally improbable. Reminiscent of social engineering hacking._

Max sighed. His own particular interest in such matters was likely immaterial to pretty much anyone but himself. He made a mental note to dig up a bit on that Natsuru boy later, or at least he wanted to convince himself that he would, but his curiosity got the better of him.

 _Just a few more documents…_

And then he hit something. He wasn't quite sure what it was that he hit, but it immediately struck him as _very odd_. One of the letters detailing the transfer request specifically mentioned a request to be in the same school and class as…

Chloe.

"Huh?"

That one came out loud.

Why would anyone _want_ to be in the same class with Chloe?

He threw his hands up in the air in confusion.

Even more odd was that Natsuru didn't seem to have any interest in Chloe whatsoever. He didn't try to contact her and she surely haven't given him even a second thought. No, Chloe wouldn't approach until she'd found just the right way to abuse him.

 _It just doesn't add up. Natsuru and Chloe together is like mixing oil and water. There's nothing connecting the two._

All the while during recess, as Max hacked away in the library, someone was clearly having fun in the courtyard. That is, if one's definition of fun is whipping out a makeup kit and fixing up Juleka and Rose.

Natsuru examined Juleka's makeup with a trained eye.

"You're doing real good, Juleka." He said as he applied some deep crimson eyeshadow. He showed her the result with a hand mirror and both smiled, as it blended with her purple hair tips and her copper eyes.

Her friend, however, had significantly more room to upgrade her look.

"How about you, Rose?"

He watched as Rose turned her eyes away from him and looked at Juleka, only the latter to nod gently and smile slightly. Rose let out a very short sigh but then returned to her usual cheerfulness and turned to Natsuru.

"O-Okay! Let's go!"

His fingers quickly and gently worked about her face, fixing her foundation. A light smear and a few fluttering dabs spread a tasteful addition of bronzing at her cheeks with a repeat at the jawbone, followed by blush. He let out a very soft sigh, then switched to his brushes, applying slightly smoky pink eye shadow with a rounded brush and soft brown eyeliner with an eyeliner one.

A quick look towards Juleka strongly hinted that she was appreciative of the work. He could discern an ever so slight smile on her face—hopefully, meaning she approved. It made Rose's face shine and her eyes stand out better, while still retaining a delicate look that school would approve of.

He showed the result to Rose, who gasped slightly.

"Aww, that's so great! Thank you!"

"My pleasure, really.״

 _This felt_ _ **so**_ _good. I haven't done nearly enough of this._

"You're really good at this, aren't you?" Juleka half-asked, half-commented.

He blushed a little and lowered his head.

"Um. Not really… I… guess?"

 _I mean, I_ _ **know**_ _I am supposed to be, but..._

"You guess?" Rose chirped. "You're a professional!"

He clenched his make-up kit and tried to put it behind his back, to no avail.

"You have an expensive pro kit too." Juleka added.

 _That's right… How on earth am I going to explain it to them?_

"I… know a… um, brand rep. Yeah. So I got a good discount."

He wasn't sure if they were buying it, so he tried to steer the conversation back to something he could talk about.

"Say, Juleka, are you good with something more ornate?" Natsuru returned to her. "I do makeup art too."

"School regulations," she mumbled back in an unhappy tone and he frowned.

 _Why can't we have good things?_

"But maybe you could go to the art room later on!" He heard Rose's excitement as she offered an alternative that immediately struck a good vibe with him.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Rose! Could you tell me more about this... art room?"

"You can practice whatever art you want there. Makeup, calligraphy… everything goes. And this way Juleka can be with me there too! I'm going there to write rock band lyrics, myself."

The thrill of her voice captivated his mind.

 _That's the place I'm looking for._

"I can already see the silver-purple flame extending past your eye to the temple." He grinned at Juleka who mumbled "great!" with anticipation.

"So, art room it is then. I have to go fetch something before that, catch you there in an hour after school!"

He couldn't wait for school to end for the day and to get to the art room. Then again, there was another top priority task to complete. He hummed a tune to himself as he walked towards the Dupain-Cheng bakery next to school.

The smell of freshly baked goods of all kinds was very pleasing to him and he took an extra breath to enjoy it. Then again he already knew he won't be finding the specific thing he was looking for, so he headed straight to the counter when he saw a familiar face.

"Hi there, Natsuru!" He saw Marinette from class waving at him. "What can we do for you?"

 _Umm… well..._

"Oh, so… it's your family's bakery isn't it? That'd make you Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"

She nodded.

"Okay, sure. So, I… uhh, I need to place a custom order."

"Are you sure you just didn't find what you're looking for?"

 _Please don't make it any more embarrassing..._

He pulled a pen from his pocket and started playing with it with his fingers.

"You know what… no worries, I'll have to get Mom for that. Be a minute!"

Natsuru put up a slight smile and the sight of Sabine.

"Yes dear… what can I do for you?"

Hee figured she would have a better relative hunch about what he was going to ask, possibly being more experienced than her daughter.

"Madam… I… miss the taste of a good melon pan. I apologize in advance for the bother."

Marinette's mom chuckled. "Wow, It's been years since I last prepared one of these. But no worries, I can do it, you've come to the right place."

 _You'd do that? That's so great!_

"The smaller the better if possible. I'll pay for the whole tray."

Natsuru paced in fast, happy steps towards the art room. No sooner than he reached the art room after his visit to the Dupain-Cheng bakery, another kind of surprise was waiting for him.

"Akuma!" A cry came about, and in a moment the art room was empty, except for Natsuru. Alix, Juleka, Rose… everybody was gone.

 _I'm all alone. Which means..._

"Gecko, Paris needs you." He mumbled as he hugged his Gecko-shaped pendant.


	4. I'm going to help those two!

A/N:

Gecko is finally going to help those two.

No, not those two. the other two.

(No, not Bridgette and Felix who are making a cameo, either)

Finally, it was the day for a joint patrol with Gecko alone.

 _My first patrol with a partner who isn't Chat._

It was a bright and sunny day, slightly chilly, white smoke billowing from chimneys. The sky was almost totally clear otherwise, and Ladybug stopped to admire the view as a thought crossed her mind.

 _I wonder where Chat Noir is right now._ Just as quickly though, she shook her head as if trying to get that thought out of her head.

 _I'm with Gecko today, I can't have her feel like she's second class! That's so unfair!_

That still wasn't enough to get that thought to subside.

Ladybug tried to suppress her sigh as much as she could, letting out only a soft inaudible one. She turned her attention to Gecko, who appeared not to notice her presence yet.

 _What's she so busy about?_

Gecko was reading a paper or letter of sorts with her eyes almost sinking into it, going back and forth and back again, Changing her expression from a smile to a slightly worried face to a wide grin.

"Hey, Gecko, what do you have there?"

That broke Gecko's concentration. Looking a tad embarrassed for a moment, she turned towards Ladybug.

"Oh, it's a letter, of course. You know-"

"Wait, Gecko. Don't go any further. Private things are off-limits. It's better for our own protection."

She watched Gecko fold the letter very carefully and put it into her pocket, frowning.

 _Maybe that's a bit too harsh with her… she looks like she_ _ **really**_ _wants to talk this one over._

"See, I'm curious about what your letter may hold, but-"

"Curious? Wait, are you telling me you've never gotten a letter?"

"Why would I get a letter?" Ladybug almost tilted her head to that one, returning Gecko's surprise in kind.

"Commander, you have no idea what you're missing. It's like living half a life. How come you never asked why you're not getting any letters?"

 _Should I be expecting letters? From whom? I'd love to get one from Adrien but somehow, I don't think that's what she meant. That's a bit weird._

"Asked whom, exactly?"

"Your little sister?"

 _And now it just went full weird. How am I supposed to answer that?_

"Umm… I don't have a little sister..."

 _This much should be okay to share,_ Ladybug thought, _it helps sort things out, and it's hardly revealing. But definitely nothing deeper than that._

"Is… everything okay, Ladybug? I mean you might not want to speak about her but-"

"Gecko, I don't have a little sister!"

A gust of chill passed between them, carrying some stray leaves with it.  
She quickly saw that didn't resonate well with Gecko, at all. The girl practically shuddered at these words.

"Ladybug, that's an awful thing to say! Please tell me you don't mean that!"  
 _Awful thing? Well, whatever that is, it's certainly no reason to discuss private matters further. I'm not sure I like where this conversation is going..._

"Gecko, No little sister. That's the end of it, No more talking about the subject. Wasn't I clear about private things being off-limits?"

Gecko sniffled and nodded.

"Okay… I… guess…"

 _Finally! This was way too awkward to taste. It's a good thing this little episode has come to an end. Sometimes being in command does require drawing the line here and there._

The awkwardness of this exchange soon made way to Gecko's excitement over actually going on patrol.

She couldn't help but smile at Gecko's amazement at things she already took for granted as routine. Notre-Dame, The Eiffel tower, Sacré-Cœur, all the rooftop views Paris had to offer.

 _Someone here really is enjoying Paris, now isn't she?_

Patrol turned out to be quite uneventful, much to Ladybug's relief. She motioned Gecko to sit next to her and schedule the next training.

 _We still have more training to do and more strategy to devise. Next stage will be how to make use of the two tools together, which is even more challenging._

"So, when will I get to meet Rena Rouge, Carapace and Queen Bee? I'd love to train with them too."

"Oh" She chuckled, "It's a bit different. They don't carry their miraculouses all the time. We call them up when needed. You're not supposed to know anything else about them."

Then she recalled one of them was already quite in the public eye.

"Aside from Chloe being recklessly public about the whole thing..." She muttered in a low voice.

 _She'd really like the company, wouldn't she… But that's not something I can safely arrange a superhero meetup for!_

She watched Gecko think that one over and gasp.

"Wait, So… there's some kind of Kwami dwelling of sorts?"

 _Too fast, too soon..._

"That's… well, I can't say much on that… Okay, so sorts of, yes. They'd love to see your Kwami but it's kinda impossible I guess."

 _It would be quite amazing to have her see the guardian… but we'll see if and how we ever get to that one._

"We'll definitely find a way, somehow. Likk would absolutely love that."

"Likk? Your Kwami?" Now that was a talk that Ladybug preferred to hold.

"Yeah." Gecko pulled out a detailed brush painting of Likk. His color was bright cyan like herself, dotted with minimal scale features and some orange detailing. His eyes were green with somewhat elliptic pupils. The one thing that also popped to Ladybug's mind is how well-drawn this piece was.

 _Someone really put their heart to it._

"Aww, he must be so cute! I don't have a drawing of Tikki with me, never thought I'd have to show her around to anyone, I guess. That's so weird."

They paused for another moment.

"What's that behind him?" Another question popped into her mind.

"Oh, that's his favorite recharge food. It's a specialty Asian sweet bun."

Ladybug almost gasped but somehow managed to pull out a poker face at the last second.

 _Is she about to say…_

"Melonpan, called so for its melon-like texture. No real melon in it though, would you believe that?"

 _I really should have guessed it! So they are related… but how exactly? I'm not supposed to act like I know any of it, or it might reveal my identity!_

"Are you okay, Ladybug?"

A poker face isn't enough when you pause for too long, apparently.

"Sure… Sure… I was just trying to remember if I ever ate such a thing." She quickly avoided that one.

"Oh, You definitely would have remembered. It's very tasty when done right."

 _I'll have mom make me one. Now I better be off before I blurt out things I shouldn't!_

"I think we've had enough excitement for one day. Call me on your communicator if you need me. Bug out!"

She watched Gecko wave goodbye just as she jumped away.

Ladybug zipped across the rooftops, as if trying to get away from something that can blow her cover.

Then again, it seemed like her problem was following her.

 _Something is_ _ **literally**_ _following me and I can feel it._

A rustle of leaves, the sound of a snapping twig, unexplainable 'woosh' sounds.

Eventually, she gave up. There wasn't any _vanisher_ to think of at the moment, despite the feeling being so familiar.

 _Probably just stress, which I have a bit more than I should these days._

She dropped her transformation at her balcony, entered her bed and had a good night's sleep.

Marinette was late to school, as always. Rushing through the halls, she quickly reached her locker to pick the books up for class. Then again, the last thing she expected to find was a mysterious note attached to it. Having no time to read it, she quickly pocketed it, picked up her books and hurried to class, the locker door slamming loudly behind her.

She entered class, panting breathlessly from the run.

"Late again, Marinette?"

"Sorry… I just…" Marinette tried to blurt out an apology to Madam Bustier.

"Never mind this time, please."

By now she realized her teacher saw her as a lost cause of sorts, pursuing only the more egregious cases.

It was time to finally look at the note that was attached to the locker. Problem was, now Alya also pored over it. Whatever it was, Marinette hoped it wasn't a secret.

"Please meet me today at 16:30 at the coffee house near the park. Drinks are on me." The note said.

 _A secret… admirer? Not quite? Maybe even… Adrien?_

"Alya… would you look at that!" She whispered to her friend. "What am I going to do about it?"

"Girl, there's no way you're missing on that. You just might find a stray supermodel at that coffee house."

She noticed Madam Bustier glancing at them and figured exchanging notes was the better of ideas about that one.

"No way… With my luck, it's going to be one of Chloe's pranks. You have to wingman me on this." She wrote on a scrap piece of paper and passed it to Alya.

"That'd be somewhat cruel even by her own standards,"Alya replied back. "I'll be there for you. If someone's offering to buy you drinks, they probably have something positive in mind."

Marinette snuck a quick glance at Adrien, trying to see if there was any sign of him being the sender. As he turned to look back at her, she quickly averted her look, embarrassed.

 _Please, let this be Adrien._

The final bell ring for the day couldn't have come soon enough for her.

Marinette knew that coffee shop rather well but almost never went inside. It was well designed, but it felt a little like a tacky tourist trap. Eye-pleasing, yes, but having a fake feel to it if you were a native Parisian. Some of the stuff on the menu was highly overpriced and it's not like she ever missed out on sweets if she wanted to, quite the opposite in fact. And how would she even know who she was supposed to meet?

She sat down at a table, waiting for the mystery guest to arrive and tapping her leg nervously, looking at her cell phone again and again and sent another SMS to Alya, confirming that she was nearby. Trying to take her mind off the situation, she looked at the menu but none of the options seemed like a good choice. They hiked the price even for a simple espresso. Then again, she was invited to a drink at the expense of whomever that was…

 _Still… so embarrassing._

And then she saw the last thing she wanted to see. In a sense, it was worse than seeing Chloe. Her head totally spun at the sight.

The girl looked like Gecko. Too much to **not** be her. But obviously no mask, no hoop, no hexagon-patterned suit…

 _What on earth is going on in here? I'm not supposed to recognize_ _ **her**_ _due to glamour effect, she isn't supposed to have anything to do with me as Marinette… or know that I even exist for that matter! does she know?_

 _Shoot. Why do these things always happen to me?_

"Hello, Marinette. I need to have an important talk with you. I understand this may be a touchy subject, but it's a very important one. So let's get comfortable first. Have you ordered a drink yet?"

 _Uncomfortable is an understatement… How does she even know my name?_

"No, I haven't…"

"Go ahead, indulge yourself. It's on me. I'll have a double-hot-chocola affogato with whipped cream."

 _What the heck? That's like 15 euros! For a drink!_

"Have you decided yet?"

Choice of drink was kind of the last thing that Marinette wanted to put her mind into.

"Shall we simply make it two?" this 'Gecko' asked and Marinette nodded.

 _I need answers, not a drink…_

"So… I don't want to be impolite, but… who are you and why are we here?"

"You can call me Natsuru and we'll get to that after the drink. Please. I want to make sure you're comfortable about it."

 _Wait, Natsuru? What the hell? But… but! That makes zero sense whatsoever!_

The coffee house took about 5 minutes that felt almost like an eternity for Marinette. Natsuru was smiling all the time which did help calm her down. It probably wasn't going to be a hostile confrontation of sorts, just a very uneasy one. And confusing. Oh, what an understatement that was.

"Girl, are you doing ok there?"

A text message reminded her there was someone on the wait. what on earth was she going to tell Alya? Make up a distant relative called Bridgette? A suitor called Felix? No, she needed a good and solid lie. Finally, she picked an option and texted her back.

"Not Adrien, but someone is interested in my fashion designs. Perhaps even an internship. Will expand later. Wish me luck."

 _I'll have to get out of this somehow later on._

Having resolved that one, Marinette was drawn again to the pleasant smell from her cup. She quickly sipped through the drink. It was pretty well balanced, just sweet and caffeinated enough, but her mind was too preoccupied to truly enjoy it. Only one thought took hold of her mind now.

 _Please,_ _ **please**_ _let this be about something other than Ladybug._

"Ok… here goes. It's about Ladybug."

 _So much for that._

"Ladybug? What about… Ladybug?"

Marinette chirped in a high-pitched voice, wanted to sound like she didn't know Ladybug much, yet she wasn't sure if she was putting up a convincing act.

"Please don't take it the wrong way, but I think you've really, really hurt her."

 _Hold it._

 _Umm… what? Where the hell did_ _ **that**_ _come from?_

"I… don't understand?"

Marinette's confusion was genuine and she had no need to fake out that one.

 _I'm quite sure that I didn't, trust me on this one…_

"She sounded… upset about you. How did your relationship derail so much?"

 _Is she hallucinating or something? I_ _ **know**_ _I didn't say anything like that! But I can't say or do anything that would out me!_

 _On the bright side, She doesn't think I'm Ladybug. That's very good news. One major worry is off the table._

"Umm… oh-kay… I'm not sure I follow, but what do you think I should do about it?" She said very, very carefully. As if weighing each word. It seemed to resonate well with Natsuru, much to her relief. Even drawing a smile from her.

"Let's write her a letter! We can do it together if you like, But I understand If you would like this to be a private experience..."

 _What's with those letters again?_

Marinette assessed the situation. She felt like she wasn't reading into Natsuru's concept of reality, so her best bet was to try and shove that under the carpet, so to speak. Engaging her as Ladybug made a lot more sense, in particular since revealing her identity was not something she planned in any way.

 _Private. Definitely private. 100% private._

"I will do. Thank you for telling me that, Natsuru." She managed to let out a mildly convincing smile.

"Thank you, Marinette. Ladybug is important to me. Please make sure to sort this out."

 _Heh, I'll do my best, you know._

While she had plenty more questions about the encounter, making it as short as possible had significant appeal.

As soon as this 'Natsuru' left, Marinette dashed home, ran upstairs, let Tikki out and groaned.

"What on earth was that? Whatever am I going to do with her now?"

Marinette's head spun from the improbability of all this happening. She didn't have any idea how to reconcile this thing into anything coherent.

"Marinette… follow your instincts. She sounded sincere to me."

Tikki sensed her holder's alarm and tried her best to help.

"I know, but none of this makes **any** sense! How am I supposed to handle her now?"

"I'm sorry Marinette, I don't know either. Maybe you should talk to her?"

She felt Tikki embracing her cheek, but this time it just wasn't enough.

"Tikki… whoever thought being in command would be so hard? What should I do?"

"At the risk of repeating myself… talk to her!"

Marinette still had about 2 hours time before going on her scheduled patrol with Chat Noir. She planned on taking Tikki's advice. In the interim, She also allowed herself to pick a salt caramel macaron to complement the drink from before, the taste of which was quite comforting. Complemented by the smell of the baking oven and having to work her hands with the dough, her mind finally found a bit of ease.

Around 30 minutes prior to patrol, she called Gecko with her communicator and was relieved that the call was picked up.

"Gecko, I want to discuss something with you. Can you please meet us at the rendezvous point, unscheduled?"

"Yep! You got it, commander!"

 _This will be helpful to sorts a few things out. That's a relief, things will be okay._

When Ladybug arrived at the rendezvous point, Gecko was already there.

 _That's good. I have some time before Chat arrives and I really, really need to have this conversation._

"So, Gecko… umm… a… _friend_ , told me you had visited her."

 _Keep cool, Ladybug, and nothing bad will happen. No malice, no fear._

Then again, Gecko's response was pretty much the last thing Ladybug expected.

Her eyes lit up, as if someone just told her the best news possible. Ladybug could have sworn she saw little tears of joy.

"Commander! That's so wonderful! I'm **so** happy for you!" Gecko seemed giddy with excitement. "I hope you'll get a lot more letters soon. Are things good between you two now?"

 _Why is she so unpredictable? What's with those letters again?_

… _Why couldn't my first subordinate be a perfectly normal superheroine?_

"Yeah, we're… uhh... all good now. Just peachy and lovely." Ladybug replied.

 _As the problem was basically a fiction of your imagination to begin with._

"I'm so happy I could do this for you. Really."

 _I wish I could consider this a done deal… but I need answers, even if I managed to put a lid on that one._

So, there was the boy Natsuru from her class. He obviously bought Likk's Melonpan and definitely knew something. She just had to gently ask him about Gecko. With any luck, he'd be more predictable and reasonable than her. Ladybug felt she could not leave this out in the open to run its course uncontrolled.

Suddenly, school tomorrow was something to look forward to.

Marinette woke early that day. This once, she actually was going to make it on time. Her desire to finally clear this one pushed her enough. The school yard was still rather empty, which was ideal for what she had in mind. She motioned to Natsuru to come to a bench next to her and he gladly did.

"Hey, Natsuru... I, umm… I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Umm… Do you have a big sister? Or a cousin perhaps?" She asked.

"Why… are you asking me this?" He replied cautiously and slowly.

 _Ah, but I already know you know. Why are you not telling the truth?_

"Are you **sure** that you don't have one?" Marinette tried again.

 _Come on, Natsuru. Lead me to her. I really have to figure out her secret. Let's just start with her existence, ok?_

Natsuru's face paled just enough for Marinette to pick it up.

"Umm… Uhh.. I… just… got to do! something! P-p-please excuse me." he quickly scribbled something on his notepad with very shaky hands, then dashed away.

Marinette followed him as he disappeared into the men's room.

 _Why did he run away like this? What could be so wrong?_

She had to grab the nearest boy around, which just happened to be Adrien.

"Something's weird with Natsuru. I think he's in the men's room, can you help me find him?"

 _I'm not even stuttering next to Adrien this time! This is really getting to me. I'm having trouble deciding if it's a good or a bad thing!_

She watched Adrien enter the men's room with anticipation, only to feel disheartened as he came out empty-handed.

"There's no one there. Are you sure you watched him go in?"

 _Ok, this is getting to be really, really weird, and not in a good way. He's just as bad as she is…_

 _And Adrien's going to think I'm weird!_

Marinette sighed and thanked Adrien as she pondered this oddity.

She kept looking at his empty seat randomly throughout the day, but he just never showed up. She was more than happy to actually focus on class to make her forget about the whole deal for now and planned to tend to it when back home, but she felt something was not boding well.

Finally, the bell rang and the day ended.

Walking the way back home, Marinette was frustrated about being unable to solve the mystery today and baffled by Natsuru's unexpected behaviour. She entered home, went up to her room and lay on her recamier as Tikki flew by her.

"I'm not sure what you did today with Natsuru was so smart," Tikki said in a worried tone. "He seems to be as unpredictable as Gecko."

Marinette looked at her back, echoing her worries.

"Yeah, he did look kind of... afraid?… but I really, really have to get down to the bottom of this! I mean, all I did was try to gently inquire, haven't I?"

At that very moment, Gecko decloaked in the chair in her room. She was spinning her unextended hoop very rapidly, much like a fidget spinner, as she squinted her eyes towards Marinette.

"You. sit. We need to talk."


	5. A reveal or two

A/N:

Let's pretend 'troublemaker' never happened because it gets in a way of nice joke. we can do without such trouble.

Marinette rushed to hide Tikki from sight.

 _Ok… this doesn't look good at all! Did she see Tikki?_

"Marinette, I totally, _totally_ don't get you. Why did you have to go around startling little brother like that!?"

Was it anger in Gecko's face? Disappointment? A mix of both?

She took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm very sorry about your little brother."

 _He was the one that denied it! Why would he have?_

"I find that hard to believe. **You** were supposed to know! Above all!"

"But... why? All I did was ask him about you!"

She had little trouble realizing this was apparently the wrong thing to say.

"Seriously, Marinette? Seriously?"

Gecko was still rapidly spinning her miniaturized hoop, eyes still squinted at Marinette.

 _She can expand it over me at any moment. And I have zero guarantees she wouldn't! I'm not even sure she realizes I'm Ladybug… I mean, doesn't she adore Ladybug? And yet she's here, spinning her hoop! It doesn't make any sense!_

 _I can't trust her like that._ Marinette made up her mind. _Maybe I'd get some real answers once she's wrapped up in yo-yo string. At least it would be safer._

"Tikki, Spots on!"

" **No**! You're not getting away!" she heard Gecko cry. A split second before her transformation started, Marinette watched Gecko slump onto a chair in defeat.

Ladybug transformed and quickly shot her yo-yo towards Gecko, only for her to dodge it at the last moment, as she already spun down her hoop.

"Commander, what are you-"

Ladybug tried another shot, and Gecko quickly fled through the hatch to the porch, with Ladybug following her.

"Wait, Commander, let me explain!"

"Ah, so now you want to explain? After making all those threats?"

Gecko was now spinning her hoop in a defense, blocking yet another yo-yo shot.

"What threats? I never threatened you! I don't want to fight you!"

 _Huh? Did you just forget about all that's happened in my room a moment ago?_

 _Are you for real, Gecko?_

 _And yet she sounds so convinced of herself! I'd rather not fight her if possible._

Ladybug spun down her yo-yo and Gecko spun down her hoop. They both cautiously looked at each other.

"Well?" Ladybug crossed her arms and tapped her legs. "I'm listening. Explain yourself."

Gecko took a deep breath.

"Finally! Commander, It's all **her** fault, you know. She really is troublesome. What else could I do about her?"

"Who on earth are you talking about?"

Gecko stared blankly at her.

"Ladybug, is everything okay?"

 _This… is going worse than nowhere, and fast._

"Gecko, I want to trust you but you're making it too hard for me."

"I would never want to do something to upset your trust. Honestly!"

"Okay… I can't believe I'm doing this, but there's always a first time for that, I guess..."

...

"LUCKY CHARM!"

Ladybug cupped her hands to catch… a small toy car?

 _How is_ _ **that**_ _going to resolve our communication problems_?

Then again, another look at Gecko showed astonishment at the sight of the toy.

"It's… one of little brother's favorite toys. It's the first toy he wrote me about. Your lucky charm is amazing, Ladybug."

 _Umm, and that's helpful… how exactly?_

Cryptic lucky charms weren't her favorite in particular and definitely not today.

"Tell me… about this toy?" she tried with considerable uncertainty.

"I think it was about one month after I was born. Oh, such wonderful memories. It was only 3 years ago, but I remember it like it was today".

 _Okay. I've heard one too many weird things from her but this one really takes the cake. And I've seen cakes._

"Wait. Wait wait wait. Rewind and playback. **One month** after you were born? **Three years** ago? You're younger than your little brother? You're three years old? How… is that even possible at all?"

She watched Gecko tilting her head back at her, as if she just said the **stupidest** thing on earth.

"How could you **not** be-"

And then she froze in place, wide-eyed.

 _She got something. We're making headway!_

"Umm, Ladybug… Could you… Uhh… Could you please repeat what I first told you when we met today?"

 _What an odd request. Maybe I was too early about that headway thing._

"I think it was something along the lines of 'Sit! We need to talk?!'"

"I… just… is… oh my god…" Gecko pointed a shaking finger at her.

 _Here comes our reveal! Finally!_

 _._

"You're Marinette."

.

Face, meet palm.

 _Wow, Sherlock! How'd you figure that out? Didn't I just transform in front of your very eyes?_

"I'm sorry, is **that** your idea of a big reveal?"

She balked as Gecko stifled a giggle of embarrassment. "Ok… There's a perfectly good explanation for all of this. I promise."

 _You had better. My patience is running out._

"Ok… Ladybug. Apparently, we're… uhh… different. Like, very fundamentally different."

 _If by different you mean "I'm living in some la-la land" then yeah, it makes sense._

"Different how exactly?" She crossed her arms.

"It appears that you have a… this is so awkward, I'm not even sure how to call it... civilian 'self'? Civilian 'identity'?"

 _Wait a minute…_ _ **Wait. a. minute!**_

It was as if whole circuits flared up in her mind. Dozens of dots connecting. A psychological barrier being broken, of something that was supposedly totally unbelievable just mere moments ago.

Jaw, meet floor.

"While I have a civilian…"

"... counterpart." Ladybug completed the sentence.

"Okay. Okay okay okay. Where do I even start… So, you two are basically _entirely different people_? Like, _he_ transforms into _you_?"

 _What a mess!_

 _This will take some time to get used to._

"Almost entirely if not totally, but yeah. And you… are still Marinette when you're Ladybug?"

"Shh! Not so loudly! It's the very thing you were **never** supposed to know! Do you realize what Hawk Moth would do if he knew that?"

A quick glance at Gecko made it clear she was just as stunned as herself. The impact of the revelation wasn't one sided.

״I blew it bad, didn't I?" She held her hands to her head as if burying it a little in them. "Oh my god. So I snapped at **you** … I **did** threaten **you** …"

As much as Gecko's embarrassment was clear, Ladybug had a major problem to reckon with, regarding her own safety.

"Ok, I guess we need a short break. What if you stopped transforming for some time while I sort this out?" Ladybug tried to focus on the most pressing problem, then quickly realized her mistake.

 _Wait. what am I even saying?_

It dawned on her that this is probably not something you're supposed to say to someone with a civilian counterpart.

 _Did I just ask her… not to exist?_

That thought by itself made her head spin and she quickly tried to retract her suggestion.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean it like that. This civilian counterpart thing..."

"It's okay, Commander. I totally failed you. You're right."

 _What?_ _ **No!**_

Ladybug shuddered at the thought. Protecting her own identity, sure, but at that kind of a price? She immediately tried to change the conversation, at least for a moment.

 _This will take a lot of time to get used to._

"Ummm… uhhh… hold that thought, ok? So… wait, all this time you thought Marinette was a different person?"

Gecko nodded, somewhat happier to discuss facts rather than live out her shame.

"Yeah, I had no reason to believe she wasn't simply your 'little sister'."

"Why didn't you ask?" Ladybug said softly. She had to wonder whether something could have stopped this train wreck somehow.

"How could I ask about what I couldn't even imagine? Even akuma victims don't behave like that."

 _How strange, she's actually right, they are not quite the same person as they were before… and they remember nothing, too!_

… _ok, this will take a whole lot of time to get used to._

There was a pause. Ladybug tried to recall other events as things started to make sense.

"Wait, so, when we talked about 'family'... **oh!** " Ladybug brought that one up again. Suddenly that part started to make retrospective sense too.

"Yeah, I was **sure** you were talking about your counterpart. So I wanted to mend your relationship with the 'little sister' you apparently never had. And I… umm…"

Gecko sighed.

"I went invisible and tailed you back home, after our first patrol."

 _You did_ _ **what**_ _exactly?_

Ladybug gave her a stern look, then softened in a moment.

"Gecko… that was… actually, kind of sweet."

"It was?"

"You did it because you cared for me, didn't you?"

Gecko nodded.

"But... why didn't you at least consult with anyone? Maybe your Kwami?"

She watched Gecko turning her head away, looking at the ground and kicking a pebble away then scratching her head.

 _Is she… could she… What? No way!_

Jaw, meet floor again.

"You've... never actually met your Kwami, have you?"

"Just the painting, but I have a strong feeling this doesn't really capture the experience. Now you know why I carry that one around all the time."

 _You can say that again! How on earth could I have managed all this time without talking to Tikki?_ The mere thought crossing Ladybug's mind made her heart pang. Tikki, her trusted companion. She looked at the direction of her purse instinctively, despite being transformed and so having no purse and no Tikki to look at.

"So… who could you consult with?" she asked, then quickly answered it herself.

"No one… you're alone, aren't you?"

"Aside from little brother's letters, I don't really have anyone."

 _So that's what's in those letters! Her way to connect with her counterpart! No wonder why they've been so important to her._

 _And that also means that … me and the other holders are basically the only ones that she could ever relate to. Because she practically_ _ **is**_ _a superheroine._

There was an awkward silence as Ladybug tried to reckon with all the information she was getting. Gecko's voice finally broke it.

"So, Ladybug… I had a great time with you… the last few days have been amongst the happiest of my life, really... but I guess I should be leaving now."

Ladybug watched as Gecko started to walk away in very slow and small steps, head looking down at the floor.

 _Who could manage to have their best of intentions ending up thoroughly disappointing their idol like that? Alienating one of the handful people in the world that could relate to her?_

 _No wonder she couldn't bear the thought of Ladybug having a fallout with Marinette! That's why she was so eager to have Marinette write Ladybug a letter!_

"Wait. Don't go."

She watched Gecko turn around to face her.

"But… I let you down, Commander. I let everyone down."

"No. Look. You made a mistake, okay? But it was honest and you meant well."

She watched as Gecko's eyes widened, and she paced a few cautious steps closer to her.

"What kind of a commander would I be, if I didn't have your back, despite everything?"

Ladybug barely finished the sentence when she suddenly found Gecko hugging her, the touch of Gecko's head at her shoulder and the wetness of warm tears at her suit.

"Thank you…" she heard Gecko whisper. "This means so much to me. Please forgive me."

 _Through fire and water… and sooner than I thought._

Ladybug smiled and gently patted her head, then sighed as she recalled she still had to face the situation of someone knowing her deepest secret. This was an immense risk.

"It's okay Gecko. It really is. I can't be angry at you for what you couldn't have known.

Just... keep my secret. I know you won't fail me."

Gecko let go of Ladybug and nodded with enthusiasm.

"Will do, commander. I won't disappoint you. I'll double my efforts."

 _These kinds of mess-ups are supposed to happen to Marinette,_ _ **not**_ _to Ladybug._

Ladybug felt like it was finally the time to try and make sense of everything in a calmer manner.

"Now, tell me the whole story please."

Gecko quickly obliged.

"Well, I think you should have most of the details by now. For the rest, you'll have to ask 'little brother', but only after I write him a letter…"

 _Right. He has no idea this conversation ever took place, after all._

Ladybug nodded.

"He doesn't know anything about you, basically. Certainly not your identity."

"That's good, let's try to keep it this way."

"He'd still be terrified until I give him the green light."

 _...This will take some time to get used to._

"Guess I should be sorry about that, even though I really didn't mean anything…"

"Yeah… well, he called a 'code red' on you."

"A code red?" Ladybug wondered what that could mean.

"Yeah. When he calls in a transformation, I have no idea as to **why** I've been called. It's a pretty disorienting experience."

 _Wow. that's... weird._

"So basically, I 'woke up' in the men's room with a note in my hand saying 'Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a risk' and I had to fill in the rest of the details myself. I was particularly angry at her, I mean **you** , which I'm still awfully sorry about…"

She averted her eyes as she said that one, only to return a moment later.

"... because I tried to set an example on how to gently approach one's counterpart. At that moment, my thought was basically 'Ladybug deserves better' and that's how we wound up like this."

 _How ironic, there were times I had that very same thought too, at the beginning..._

And then there was yet another mystery that needed solving.

"Say, Gecko… if Natsuru is your counterpart… who exactly did I meet at the restaurant then, thinking she was the civilian identity you don't actually have?"

To her surprise, Gecko motioned her hands across her eyes and her mask was gone.

"That actually was me, I can modify my appearance as needed. Didn't I say my skills were true to the Gecko name? I'm still fully protected, no matter what form I choose to take."

 _And that's why the glamour magic didn't work… it wasn't there to begin with, because she literally was Gecko!_

 _That ability is sweet. A bit on the scary side though, too._

"I never did thank you for that drink, Gecko." Ladybug smiled at her and for the first time since their conversation started, Gecko smiled back and the atmosphere turned a bit more light-hearted.

"I'm kinda afraid to ask how deep this ability goes, but I have to." Ladybug was also part curious about it, trying to tell herself it was the utility she was inquiring into.

"Perhaps it's a good opportunity to change the tense atmosphere with some eye candy, then. Close your eyes and you'll see."

 _Eye candy? What is she up to?_ Ladybug tried to figure out that one as she closed her eyes.

"Now open them," an oh-so-familiar male voice said.

 _That voice! could she have?_ _ **No**_ _!_

She opened her eyes to confirm it. A perfect replica of her perfect Adrien was now facing her.

"What? No! Just… Gecko! W-w-why are you disguised as A-A-Adrien?"

The look was way too perfect for comfort.

"I just saw the pictures in your room earlier... Isn't this hot stuff your favorite model?" Adrien's voice and likeness spoke to her, involuntarily triggering quite the response.

 _Oh my god. Ohmygodohmygod. No no no no no no._

Ladybug's horrified look was probably the worst she had ever had since that time she embarrassed herself while calling Adrien. She had to calm herself quite a bit about witnessing and hearing Adrien comment about her picture collection, despite mentally knowing otherwise.

 _It's not Adrien. It's not Adrien. Adrien doesn't know about my picture collection. It's just Gecko. Just Gecko._

…

 _Gecko knows about my picture collection!_

"S-S-Something else! Please!" She blurted out while averting her look and waving her hands frantically in a dismissive motion. Gecko quickly morphed back into her more canonical form, slightly amused at the unexpected response.

"You must never talk about this! Especially not next to Adrien!" Ladybug quickly made sure to clear any possible misunderstandings about that one.

 _Okay, I really think it's time to call this a day._

"Listen, Gecko… I… really think I'd like to sleep over some things, okay? This has been… much. A bit too much. I really need a good break now."

Gecko nodded in understanding.

"Me too, Commander… me too. Maybe I will lay off transforming for a few days."


	6. What happens at the art room

Alix didn't have any special plans for the day, aside from hanging about at the art room later on. She then saw Marinette sitting at the corner of the courtyard, looking like she had more than a few things to worry about.

"Hey, what's gotten into you, Marinette?"

"Oh, hi, Alix. well… a lot of things are happening, so…"

"Why don't you come by the art room later today? You can clear your mind by working on one of your fashion designs."

"You know what? That's a great idea. See you there then!"

Later that afternoon, Alix was in the art room examining her latest spray paint graffiti art. She had taken a suggestion from the new kid to paint a starry night scene, complete with a black cat strolling about some trash cans. That one struck a good vibe with her, having a nice touch of underground feel, even if a bit more taxing than other works she'd done. She had to improve her technique to get it right, accuracy on wider strokes as well as using some custom spray nuzzles. The effort paid off though, it did take her work up a notch.

The door of the art room swung open, and Alix turned her head to see Marinette walk in through the door. Alix waved, pleased to see that her friend had taken her suggestion. Marinette waved. She didn't stop to talk though. She walked over to an empty table and pulled out her sketchbook purposefully.

Alix glanced around the rest of the room. It was a pleasant afternoon at the art room, and quite a packed one at that. Alix paused her work on her graffiti to survey her surroundings. She identified most of the residents as the art room's practically common features, although a few extras made it more vibrant than usual.

 _Ok, so there's Marinette here, she did come after all… great!_

 _What's Alya doing here though? As she's idling about, maybe she commissioned something from Nath for the LadyBlog or something._

 _Chloe and Sabrina? As long as they're quiet and don't cause any trouble. She's not pushing her selfie work today, maybe she's just hiding away. Oh who cares._

 _Rose with earphones and Juleka, easy to figure out that one, heh._

 _Max and that new boy… Natsumu? Natsuru? Yeah that's the one. Makeup guy. He's here almost daily._

Alix turned back to her graffiti. There was one small section of the sky that she wasn't quite happy with, and she concentrated hard to identify what it was missing.

"Nice job," she heard Max comment, then. Alix turned her head again. He was looking at her. "I would believe this is classified as a subculture piece, isn't it?"

Alix removed her ventilation mask. His appearance reminded her of an important question she had in mind.

"So, Max… do you know if Kim has any feelings for me?" Alix turned to him, as straightforward as her style ever was.

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Because you're his best friend? You'd know such a thing?" Alix asked in disbelief, as if it was the most natural thing to do.

 _Guys can sometimes be so… so..._

"Well, umm…" He fidgeted a bit, averting his eyes before he answered. "I think he started dating Ondine."

"Oh well… still sorting out this thing, I guess." Alix shrugged it off. She was still quite unsure about what she was feeling towards Kim anyway, so this tipped her towards a realization she was already leaning to.

"Don't worry Alix, I'm sure someone like **you** would have no problem…"

 _Finally a proper response… wait, what? did he just… oh, that's_ _ **priceless**_ _!_

"Yes, Max? You were saying?" She snuck a smile at his direction, causing him to furrow his brows in confusion. After a moment, he seemed to realize what he was insinuating and his cheeks turned slightly pink.

Alix found herself amused by her newfound ability to fluster Max. There was no way on earth she wasn't going to toy around with it, at least for a bit.

"Max, you're blushing." Pointing it out was a good way to further the blushing and it delivered the results.

"Umm.. uhh... Statistically… When a teenage boy is near a pretty girl, there's naturally a 15% chance that…"

 _Oh my god, he is practically walking into it!_

"Wait, did you just call me pretty?" Alix instantly seized upon the opening he unwittingly gave her.

"I was… reciting… a statistic…" She watched his failed attempts to backtrack "Not that you're not pretty! I mean..."

Pink slowly turned into deep crimson.

She knew it was some statistic that he quoted. That, of course, didn't mean she had to play along with his terrible, flustered attempts at regaining his dignity. Plus, it was really fun to watch him fumbling for words like that.

"Of course you were, Max." She winked, now bearing a full-fledged smile. His face went three shades darker.

"You would look stunning after a makeover," she heard Natsuru's voice intervening.

 _Of course, his friend coming to the rescue… now I'm on the line myself! Me? Makeup?_

"No, really, I-" Alix made a feeble attempt at protesting, one that soon got contradicted.

"Shhh," Natsuru interrupted, silencing her denials. "You're an art project now. Alya?" He called out to the girl across the room, "Mind helping me out with her hair?"

She heard Alya's footsteps as the girl approached and turned to see the blogger wielding a hairbrush in her hands. _Curse her!_ Alix thought as her friend turned against her. _Just see how much I help the next time she wants to set Marinette up with Adrien!_ Alya smiled at Natsuru, and Alix refrained from growling even as the ombre-haired girl leaned over her with that horrible torture device. She closed her eyes, resigned to her fate. Seconds later, she felt the touch of brush strokes smoothing out her hair.

There wasn't much point in arguing and she yielded herself to Alya's hairbrush and Natsuru's fingers and makeup brushes. She made sure to level a few harsh glares at them both, just so they knew they weren't out of trouble yet! She had a reputation to maintain, after all. What would happen if word got out that she had _enjoyed_ being dolled up by the others? Kim would never let her live it down.

Natsuru smiled as his hands brushed over her skin with the most delicate touches. He sighed as he lost himself further into his "project". Alix's eyes followed his every movement, watching his hands the entire time. Despite his ease, the smile upon his lips didn't quite reach his eyes.

 _He seems to be enjoying this, and yet somehow discomforted._

She knew the basics, at least she could follow what he was doing. A layer of foundation, followed by two or three minor concealer touches, making a few annoying spots vanish. Next came bronzing and a gentle touch of pink blush. All the while he was showing her the results with a mirror, waiting for her silent approval. She nodded very gently as not to move much. The slight radiance of the bronzing did flatter her face.

Her blue eyes were now primed for some light orange shading followed by eyeliner and a touch of mascara, for a bolder and more noticeable presence.

 _This guy really is good!_

Next came her lips. A thin trace of lip liner and dusky pink colored gloss gave her lips an apparent volume increase and made a perfect match for her pink hair.

She then noticed Max was still looking at her through the entire process.

 _So maybe the fun didn't end… maybe it's just beginning again… let's see on whose side Natsuru is on this._

"So, Max, what do you think? How'd you like those blue eyes and pink lips?" She noted Natsuru's smirk as he turned towards Max.

 _ **Oh yes**_ _. Seems like he just turned into my accomplice in crime._

"I… umm…" Max gulped as he struggled for breath "There's... 95% chance that…" This might be the first time ever she had seen the confident boy at a complete loss for words. Not even his precious statistics could help him now.

"I believe there's a 100% chance you need to sort things out, Max," Alix chided. "What happens when you become a CEO of a start-up? Still going to lose it like that?"

He blinked as her words sank in. "What are…? Wait, you really think that?"

Alix raised her eyebrow. "Mr. Statistics can't see that this is also a 100% certainty?"

She smirked and just like that he was shot back into the crimson zone, much to her delight, so she went on.

"God, could you make it any more fun flustering you? Jeez! Learn to take some credit! You're smart!" She gave him a friendly pat on the back and he pretty much yelped at the touch.

"I… I really… got… to go." He turned without another word and sprinted away, his face flaming in embarrassment.

Alix chuckled and shrugged as he vanished from the room. .

 _He really is smart though, and he looked cute fumbling like that._ She froze at that thought. _Wait, what am I even thinking? I was just having fun with him!_

With Max gone, Alix quickly switched her thoughts towards another plan she was having.

"Hey, Juleka, do you know any good tattooer around?"

"Sure," she mumbled. "I'll text you the name and address. Why?"

"I need to get something done. I've been thinking about it for a long time." Alix replied.

A few minutes later, Alya watched Max return to the art room.

"Hey there _babe_ , back for some more?"

She heard Alix's voice trying to taunt Max again, but this time he managed to get past her to the art room teacher.

"Can we turn on the TV, teacher? I saw something interesting going on."

Alya watched the TV broadcast with intent. She always had an appreciative eye for Ladybug related news. This time it was Nadja Chamack was interviewing a so-called Ladybug expert. Not a common event, but it wasn't the first time, either.. Then again… the subject was persistent rumors of a new superheroine. The expert denied them flat out and explained the improbability of this.

 _Rumors of a new superheroine, huh? Well isn't it time for the_ _ **real**_ _experts..._

Alya was quick to add her own commentary.

"A new superheroine? It's nothing but unsubstantiated rumors, I tell you. She's already got three superheroes in reserve aside from Chat Noir. What is she going to do with another one?" Alya said.

 _Not to mention that I'm also Rena Rogue and I kinda know how this thing works. She's not going to give anyone a miraculous, much less permanently!_

"For once, I actually have to agree with redhead here. There's no way Ladybug would care for a new superheroine. Especially with Queen Bee at her side..."

 _Yeah well Chloe, let's not tell the whole world_ _ **I**_ _was supposed to get the bee miraculous, before I got hit..._  
That was the moment when she heard the sound of a fist being slammed at one of the tables next to them and the rattling of the assorted items placed on top of it.

"No! You're wrong!"

She identified the voice as Natsuru's, out of everyone. A quick look showed his eyes focused on her with unfriendly intent. Not being new to these, she anticipated an explosive scolding to come.

 _But… why?_

She gave Chloe a puzzled look and was returned in kind.

"You're both so full of yourself! Why do you need self-assurance at the expense of others? Why can't there be another superheroine?"

 _Huh? Why is_ _ **he**_ _so upset about it? Who does he think he is, anyway?_

"You know what? **Fine.** where's your proof? Any evidence? There's been plenty of hoaxes before you know."

"I… can't say… but there must be!" he mumbled at first and yet tried to persist in his offense somehow.

 _I'm having none of_ _ **that**_ _,_ Alya thought.

"Then why do you insist on it? Who's full of themselves now? Don't tell me it's some weird fantasy of yours."

 _So that's what it's all about?_

 _But… Rena is spoken for, Ladybug is perfect for Chat Noir and Queen Bee… well…  
Ugh. But... well, okay. I can calm that one down._

Alya's tone softened a bit as she tried to get some proper sense into Natsuru, more gently now.

"Listen, Natsuru, it's wishful thinking. You really should just get down to earth, okay? There's no way normal people's lives will cross with superhero ones. Fantasies would get you nowhere."

"Can you blame him for having fantasies about Queen Bee, though?"

She gave Chloe a stern look over that one.

 _Not helping._

She expected the fiery scolding to continue, but Natsuru just looked at them back with wide eyes and his mouth open.

"Al-... B-But-... I-...

…

No…"

It was a very meek and deflated one, followed by a single tear rolling down his cheek. He clenched his fists and ran out of the room with his head low.

Alix's fists clenched at her side. "Looks to me like you're still going to get that victory mark after all, Chloe."  
Alya didn't expect Chloe to let that one go uncontested.

"What? He didn't actually say anything about Queen Bee you know. So it's all Alya's fault!"

Alya suddenly felt two pairs of eyes staring at her and a feeling of unease started to sweep over her.

 _Someone getting akumatized over my actions? No. I'm not letting that happen. I'm fighting Akumas, not creating them!_

"I… but… whatever did I say?"

None of them had a good answer to that.  
She hurried out of the classroom as Alix joined Juleka. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Chloe returning to her seat, only to rise a moment later and join the search herself.

After a few minutes of frantic searching, Natsuru was finally found in one of the empty classrooms, sobbing quietly.

"Is this… what all our efforts were for?" she heard him mumble to himself, not noticing her own presence.

 _Oh no. Please don't. Whatever you do, don't despair._

"Akuma!" she yelled almost instinctively at the sight of the black and purple butterfly, watching the boy jerk to the sound of her call. She felt her heart rate pick up pace as she watched the butterfly drawing nearer and nearer to him.

And then, something broke her concentration. It was something shiny being tossed at her. Reflexively, her hand stretched to catch the thing Natsuru flung at her mid-air.

When she looked back at him she saw the Akuma landing on the boy's makeup kit and the all-too-familiar butterfly outline mask adorning his face.

A strange feeling caught up with Hawk Moth. It emanated from the area of that same school, Collège Françoise Dupont.

"The gift that just keeps on giving and giving. Maybe I should donate to that school," he rambled, deriving his little guilty pleasure from what he was about to do.

He paused to relish on the particular person he was sensing. "There's a lot of power there. I am not sure why, but I have a really, really good feeling about this one. Fly, my evil Akuma. Someone out there might prove to be oh so very potent."

He finally made rapport with his latest target, an otherwise unassuming brown haired boy.

"Hello, Natsuru." He peered at the boy's mind, trying to pry a way in. "I am Hawk Moth. A new foreign student, humiliated by his classmates. How insulting."  
He smiled as he realized the path to go, an easy and obvious pick.  
"Don't you want to protest this unwarranted abuse, _AlienatedOne_?"

And then he felt the rejection. A very strong one. The sensation akin to bumping into a closed door.

"No, Hawk Moth. I have friends here. I belong here. I'm not an Alien! You will not Akumatize me!"  
He reeled a bit at the unexpected shout back. Apparently that boy was somehow prepared. He could also discern the voices of the boy's friends shouting words of support at him, the hopeful tone of a girl whom he could feel was the one responsible for the whole situation.

This burst of feistiness was far from enough to make him back off, though. He hadn't had anyone escape him and surely wasn't planning this one to be an exception.

 _It's twice as fun when the prey resists_ , he savored the thought. _Well then… if I can't go through the door, perhaps the window should do?_

And then he felt it. That window he was looking for. Wide open to the whole world, almost inviting him. He felt nearly offended.  
 _And to think he was trying to face me holding_ _ **that**_ _inside._ He snorted in contempt. _At least that should make for an entirely different kind of enjoyment._

"Very well then… I shall let you go." He continued, releasing some of his mental grip, aware of the temporary relief this would give his victim.

"But, before I do… I believe I have sensed something else... may we speak about that one, for a moment?"

He felt his opponent's world collapse at his words. A one hit knockout.

"No… I… please..."

 _So soft, so meek, so full of despair._

He felt gratified at the now feeble effort to protest his takeover. He had total and absolute control now, for him to toy with and mould.

"Yes… Let us, shall we? How unfair that must feel. **So** unfair. Shouldn't the rest of the world get a small taste of just how unfair-"

He didn't even finish the sentence.

"I can't wait to show them, Hawk Moth. Grant me your power!"

He grinned as he visualized his latest creation, delighted in naming it.

" _Miss Aligner,_ it's your time to rise! In return for your power, you must get me the Ladybug and Cat Noir miraculouses."

Alya watched in horror as the all-too-familiar black and purple mist engulfed Natsuru. While her mind told her to run away, her body refused that call. Her eyes transfixed as Natsuru's akumatized form appeared. It was a very monochromatic sight, that of a girl with long black hair, wearing a black and white dress and diamond-pattern stockings, sporting a pair of black-to-white gradient-colored wings. the only two non-monochrome feature of her were scarlet-red eyes and a matching ribbon tied to her head.

Her flight instinct finally took control as she fled to find refuge at one of the empty classrooms, still holding that thing that Natsuru tossed at her in such a hurry.

She slowly opened up her palm, wondering about the thing which now revealed itself to be a Gecko-shaped pendant.

 _Why would Natsuru throw that at me in such a hurry?_

She gently caressed it with her finger as a she felt a sudden blinding burst of light, hiding her eyes by an instinct.  
 _I know this feeling. I know this feeling all so well. For once, please don't let it be what I think it is. Please!_

She opened her eyes to the sight of a bright cyan Kwami levitating in front of her.  
 _No! It can't be!_  
A million and one questions flooded her mind, only to be blocked by the overwhelming sense of guilt that engrossed her. It was as if they all collided against an impenetrable wall.

"You're Natsuru's Kwami…" She said, suppressing her tears. Her throat dried and felt like it suddenly had a lump in it.

 _How could I have botched things_ _ **so**_ _badly?_

"I'm sorry!" She blurted at the Kwami. "So so sorry! I was mocking him without knowing it. I caused his akumatization. I akumatized a miraculous holder. My first akumatization is a miraculous holder. I-"

"Indeed, I'm Likk. And, Lady…" The high-pitched voice of the Kwami in front of her cut her stream of apologies.

"Alya," she corrected him in between her attempts not to break down.

"Alya," he repeated now, "Natsuru needs your help."

Her eyes widened, remorse now mixed with utter surprise and her mind screeching to a near halt.

 _I… what… just… really? Does he want me to..._

"I just caused him to become akumatized, and you want me to transform with you?"

"Isn't it the least you could do for him?" Likk responded in affirmation, then appeared contemplative for a moment as he proceeded.

"You don't seem surprised at my presence… or with the concept of transformation…"

 _He's right. I am a superheroine. Part time perhaps, but a superheroine nonetheless._ _I can take responsibility for this. I might be able to fix this._

"Alya, you couldn't have known a thing."

She heard his voice as she was contemplating the premise.

"Listen, the sooner we get him back from Hawk Moth's clutches, the better. It's Hawk Moth's fault, not yours. Don't you ever forget that."

A sliver of hope shot inside her, finding its room amongst the kaleidoscope of feelings.

"If you have a form which you're already comfortable with, you had better take that one. You will transform by saying 'Scale up' and turn invisible with 'Begone'."

She wiped a stray tear and clenched her fists.

"This is so painful… but I have to do it. We can do it. Natsuru, I am **so** sorry… both for what I did and what I am about to do... Likk, scale up!"

 _Wait… what did he mean by 'take a form'?_

She found herself feeling the familiar power rush of a transformation. Yet, it was different than how Trixx transformed her. She experienced the energy surging through her body triggering no transformation yet, only a mild trickling sensation. It felt as if Likk was searching for something or measuring her in a way. The sensation moved about top to bottom, inwards and outwards, as if studying or assessing her. Trixx's transformation did not seem to have any of that.

 _Doesn't Likk know what to do? Is that... hesitation of some kind?_

And then, a familiar feeling came with a twist, the one of mental rapport. When Trixx did it, it felt like it was enhancing certain of her own aspects in her mind and persona. A bit like a piece of clothing that covers some and thus highlights the other. By comparison, Likk wasn't as gentle, though. It felt more like attaching a piece of clunky armor rather than comfy clothing. It had a certain numbing feeling to it and she could not describe why but felt like it was a necessity.

 _Perhaps… we're simply not as compatible? What's he doing to me?_

The sensation of discomfort quickly faded though. Whatever that was, it was now complete and part of her, much like Trixx's act.

And then the actual physical transformation took place. By this moment, it felt extremely similar to the feeling she was already accustomed to. First, instinct guided her to motion her hands at her face and her orange-and-white mask materialized.

 _This mask feels familiar..._

She then raised her hand for her black/orange/white body suit to form, together with extending and coloring her hair in a familiar three-tone pattern.

 _Wait… black, orange and white?_

On her back, instead of a flute, a hoop had formed. Oddly enough, she immediately felt as if she had used this hoop before many, many times.

The transformation finally reached her feet, forming her superheroine paw-pattern boots. She motioned at her hair for her ears to pop out and another motion caused her tail to follow.

 _My…_ _ **fox**_ _ears? And_ _ **fox**_ _tail?_

…

 _Has Likk just transformed me into his own version of Rena Rouge?_

She looked at herself again. An orange fox tail medallion rested at her chest, indiscernible from the one she was fortunate enough to occasionally hold on to.

 _Even the miraculous changed to match. Astounding.  
And now, Rena, you have a job to do._


	7. Miss Aligner

Meanwhile, Marinette finally took note that the art room went silent. She lifted her head up and spotted Rose.

"Hey, Rose. Did I miss anything?" She asked, still smiling.

"Umm… Natsuru ran off crying and then people started to go and look after him."

 _That can't be good. If anything bad were to happen…_

Marinette's smile quickly disappeared as she left the art room, only to see Alix running away.

"We have an Akuma situation!" Alix said as she rushed past her.

 _Ok, this is_ _ **very**_ _bad!_

"Please tell me it's not Natsuru!"

"I guess that's Paris's way of greeting him." Alix turned her head as she kept running away, the sound of her footsteps reverberating through the hallways as she ran downstairs.

Marinette was scrambling for a safe spot to transform as she considered the akumatization scenario in her mind.

 _Last time we had a miraculous holder get akumatized, the Akuma went straight to the miraculous. If it's in his miraculous, and then he transforms… or if he somehow gets Gecko's abilities because he got akumatized..._

 _No, this will be oh so very bad! It would mean the Akuma could look like anything, including being totally invisible!_

 _How can we cataclysm an invisible miraculous, without accidentally touching him? Or pick up a polymorphic Akuma?_

 _This could be an entirely new level of difficulty. Shoot._

Finding a good hiding spot to transform couldn't have come sooner to her.

"Tikki, spots on!"

...

Searching the halls, Ladybug eventually found herself looking at an improbability. At the very least, that's the first thing that came up to her mind when she saw something that she wasn't expecting to see in any way.

Namely, it was Rena Rouge. Which wasn't odd by itself, if it weren't for the fact that the fox miraculous was safely at Master Fu's. And even that would have somehow made sense, if it wasn't for the fact that **this** Rena was armed with Gecko's hoop.

 _Is it the Akuma? Is it who I think it is? Is it the miraculous I think it is?_

 _..._

 _Why can't anything involving that Gecko make reasonable sense, for once?_

She needed answers, and her yo-yo was about to grab whoever that was and get them, or at least the minimal subset needed to fight the Akuma.

*TWANG* went the sound of Ladybug's yo-yo as it wrapped itself around that Rena Rouge. _One Rena Rouge coming right up._

"Who are you?" she asked with a piercing look in her eyes.

"Alya. Natsuru gave me his miraculous." A whisper gave away the answer Ladybug wished the most to hear.

She immediately freed her and gave her friend a warm hug.

"Oh, thank god it's you! Sorry for not being gentle, but this is such a mess."

Rena Rouge nodded.

"I get it… I would have done the same, Ladybug."

"I have **so** many questions for you right now. How on earth did that happen?"

"Well… it's..."

"You know what, forget it. It's Akuma time now. Did you see him? Do you know where his item is?"

"I saw it enter his makeup kit, transforming him into a Girl and I pretty much escaped afterwards."

"Let's go then! Don't forget though, I'll be calling **you** for an interview afterwards..."

She couldn't help but laugh at this strange predicament.

...

The noise of panicked shouts from the art room gave away the presence of the Akuma, and they both hurried there. They peeked inside and saw a scene unfold in front of their eyes.

The girl figure burst flying into the art room, buffeting her wings and thrashing around the area. Paper sheets, comic books and pieces of fabric got carried in the wind, Spray cans, pens and paint thrown around the room by sheer force. One of the spray cans burst at Alix's graffiti, a large yellow blot covering the black cat.

The first poor soul to be hit by the girl's magical powers was Sabrina. The bespectacled girl cowered in fear as a black ray with a star pattern to it engulfed her. In a moment, Sabrina emerged, seemingly unharmed.

"Am I… okay?" She asked. But Ladybug quickly realized she wasn't, owing to her shocked look.

"Chloe! Chloe!" The cry came about, followed by sobbing. "I can hear her, but she's gone!"

That much was true, Chloe was nowhere to be found, gone as if the earth swallowed her whole.

Next to be hit was Rose. By now Ladybug had a good suspicion as to what was going to happen. In a moment, Juleka was gone.

"Ladybug, help!" Rose's cry came about.

 _Rose can't be happy about this. And if I get hit..._

Which was exactly the moment she felt the ray of stars hit her and instantly knew what it meant.

 _No! Adrien!_

…

 _Okay, This just got personal now._

"L-l… Ladybug?" She suddenly heard his voice in her mind.

A quick look at Rena by her side though made it clear to her that she must not mention him by name, or else she will have a lot of explaining to do.

She quickly grabbed Rena and pulled back.

"W-w… where are you?"

"I'm… I don't know this place. It's a forest of sorts and it's morning here."

"Since it's afternoon here in Paris, you must be thousands of miles away. Don't worry, I'll save you, somehow!"

"Do you know how this happened, My- I mean, Ladybug?"

 _No, I can't tell him_ _ **that**_ _…_

"A-a-Akuma! Got… to fight! Talk to you later!"

"Ladybug, who is that you're talking to?" Rena asked her.

"I… uh… I can't say! You know that!" She whispered back.

 _I just hope Adrien didn't get that… if he figures out I love him… that won't be so good!_

She quickly opened up her communicator and called Chat Noir, only to get a "not available" red sign.

"Where **is** that mangy cat! He's in for so much trouble if he doesn't show up!"

...

Ladybug observed the monochromatic girl fly away from the school towards the Eiffel tower and both Rena and her quickly caught chase. They arrived just in time to see the monochromatic girl hovering in front of a makeshift police barricade, the sound of police sirens and red-and-blue lights illuminating the street.

"Enough, Akuma! Stop pestering the citizens of Paris!" Roger Raincomprix hailed at the figure to stop.

In a moment, Ladybug witnessed a red ribbon shooting from the figure's arm, engulfing him almost fully and chaining him to the barricade. Another one turned his car over upside down and another grabbed the second car and flung it a few dozens of meters away.

"Yeah, no cops are ever going to stop her…" Ladybug quipped at the sight of Miss Aligner making short work of the barricade. She dodged another car thrown at them, only to get slammed at a fire hydrant, water spraying around the area, mixing with oil and gasoline spilled from the overturned police car. Another car missed them, hitting a street lamp. Rena blocked the falling pole from hitting them.

 _Looks like that Akuma has got more tricks up her sleeve, or wherever those ribbons are coming from! But then again, we're two superheroines as well…_

… _and missing a third!_

"Natsuru, stop! You don't have to do this!" Ladybug called.

The girl froze and stared at her with fire in her eyes.

"I'm Miss Aligner! Don't you ever utter that name in my presence again, or it will be the last anyone ever hears of you."

Her anger was quickly complemented by a ribbon shot, which Ladybug tried to counter with her yo-yo, but her string got wrapped around by the ribbon and she was yanked aside with considerable strength. Rena quickly moved to block further attacks, her hoop doing somewhat better and harder to yank out as it wrapped more ribbon in it. Sparks came out as the ribbons clashed against the hoop, the sound of metal hitting another as the two got tangled. Miss Aligner detached her ribbons, and within a few seconds they withered to dust.

Rena extended her hoop and started spinning it in a wobbling motion, protecting both and avoiding the low blind spots. Indeed, Miss Aligner tried to send her ribbons beneath the hoop's height, only to be stymied by the wobbling movement. A shot of her black ray was blocked by the very same move.

Ladybug watched the maneuver with amazement.

 _This is my move. The one I taught Gecko._

… _How is that even possible?_

"I can't call out lucky charm under a spinning hoop… I need to retreat temporarily to a safe place and see what comes out."

Rena slanted her hoop forwards, now spinning it in keeping that forward slant, allowing her to retreat backward and out of sight for Miss Aligner.

"Where **is** that cat! Why does he keep disappearing at crucial moments?" she ranted then sighed.

 _Guess it's me and Rena on this one._

"What am I going to do now?" She talked as if to herself, forgetting there was someone else that could hear her, catching her off guard.

"Ladybug… let me help you. I can be your mission control!" Adrien's warm voice echoed to her.

"O-okay."

"Please, tell me what you saw."

"The Akuma is in her makeup kit, but she's not using that one at all. It's just hanging by her side. She was shooting red ribbons at me."

"Okay, noted. Did you call your lucky charm yet?"

"I was just about to… Lucky charm!" Ladybug called it, and in a moment she was presented with a red and black taser gun.

"A taser gun? Am I supposed to tase her?"

"Maybe she's weak to electricity?" Adrien offered.

Ladybug dodged under the cover of Rena's hoop and managed to get a clear shot at Miss Aligner. Electricity did flow through her ribbons, but she simply scoffed at it, much to Ladybug's chagrin. She quickly took back to cover.

"Nope, quite immune to it actually." She updated Adrien.

"Can you hit her makeup box with your yo-yo or the taser? Maybe if you tase the box itself?" Adrien suggested.

After the third try to hit the makeup box, she had to admit this wasn't possible. Miss Alignert knew her weak point very well and wouldn't let it get hit, blocking the taser every time, even with Rena doing her best to distract her.

"Maybe, but she keeps it well guarded. I don't think I can push through."

"If you could get her wrapped in something conductive…" he ventured.

"Yes! **That's it!** You're a genius!" she called and immediately blushed at the compliment she just gave out. She had to keep focus somehow.

"Rena, come over here, there's something I need you to do."

...

Rena Rouge blocked the ribbon shot with her hoop, wrapping a considerable amount of it in the process. She then ran towards Miss Aligner and slid to the ground, then expanded her hoop. Miss aligner evaded the move by a high jump, flapping her wings to stay in the air.

"Really, you didn't think **that** was going to work, did you? I can extend the ribbon to infinity, you can't pull me to the ground."

"I guessed this much." Rena replied, smirking. "That's not what we had planned anyway."

As per Ladybug's plan, Rena kept spinning the hoop faster and faster, more of the ribbon wrapping itself around Miss Aligner and the makeup kit. Rena stopped spinning the hoop and stamped on the ribbon firmly, pressing it to the ground.

"Now, Ladybug!" the call came. Ladybug shot the taser at a large chunk of ribbon. As the electric shock met the makeup kit, its contents started to disintegrate, together with the box framing itself. Miss Aligner tried to keep it from falling apart, all in vain. In a moment, she turned back into Natsuru, falling from air only to be safely caught by Rena. A black and purple butterfly emerged, trying to make its escape.

 _No, you're not getting away, not today._

"Time to de-evilize!"

Ladybug whipped her yo-yo, capturing the akuma.

"Bye-bye little butterfly!"

She quickly followed through by tossing the taser gun into the air.

 _Turns out superheroines can play cops too,_ She laughed at the thought.

"Miraculous… Ladybug!"

She watched the stream of ladybugs clearing away ribbon remnants, returning the police cars to their place and making people appear again.

"Good work, Ladybug!" The familiar voice was close again.

 _How come I am still hearing Adrien's voice?_

A pat on her back made that point a clear one. She turned around, blushing, only to see another blushing figure in front of her.

"Thanks for saving me."

"Um… uhh... Hi." She waved, and then realized this had better be talked through in private, before unintended secrets get divulged.

"Give me a moment with Rena Rouge, please?"

Adrien nodded.

"Go tend to him, Alya." Ladybug whispered at Rena, low enough for Adrien not hear her. "He gave you his miraculous, after all. He knows, there's not much to hide by now. "

They both watched Rena carrying Natsuru away.

"Thanks for being my mission control. We make quite... a team?" Ladybug said and both turned away their looks from each other, embarrassed over that statement, Adrien gently scratching his head.

"I'm… I'd…"

"No! Adrien. I need to protect you, not endanger you. I don't want you to play superhero. Riposte was more than enough..."

Another beep reminded Ladybug that her time was quickly running out.

"I… gotta go! goodbye, Adrien! See you!"

Ladybug quickly jumped into a side alley and de-transformed.

Rena Rouge took Natsuru to a secluded point at a nearby park. She tried to find a good spot in-between the trees as she de-transformed and slipped his miraculous back into his pocket.

"I'm so, so sorry," Alya said with tears in her eyes. "I… didn't mean to..."

"N-No, please. I shouldn't have burst at you like that… I'm to blame for not keeping my emotions in check."

That caught Alya by surprise.

"Are you serious? For a moment there, it looked like you almost managed to shake him off! It's the first time I've ever seen that happen!"

"Yeah, well… I guess no amount of training can prepare you for this…"

His calm reassured her and she wiped away her remaining tears.

"Wait, you **trained** for this?"

He nodded.

"The potential for damage when a miraculous holder gets akumatized is… well, we've all seen that, right?" he replied.

"True enough."

 _Yeah, I'm still not really happy about Queen Bee getting that miraculous..._

"Alya. I'm just… happy enough as is to have Likk back with me, thanks to you."

"Wait, if you know what happened with Queen Bee… Why'd you risk your miraculous like that? You didn't know, did you?"

Natsuru seemed phased by that question for a moment, though his smile quickly returned.

"No, I didn't, but don't let that worry you. Besides, turns out I couldn't have made a better choice, now could I?"

"I guess you did… but… oh well."

Natsuru turned to leave, but Alya stopped him.

"Wait, I do have to ask though, superheroine?"

His smile now widened into a full-fledged grin.

"You know I'm not supposed to talk about that. Goodbye, Alya. And thanks again."

Alya looked at Natsuru as he walked away.

 _I will get down to the bottom of it. Not today, but there's no way I won't be getting down to the root of that. I have my limits of excitement too, but tomorrow is fair game._

Back at home, Marinette had a lot on her mind. She sat on her bed bunk and had a heart to heart conversation with her Kwami, having described all the aspects of the fight to her.

"Tikki… This was… I don't know what to say!"

"Yes, Marinette?"

"On one hand, I got to work so closely with Adrien! It's like…"

Marinette had a dreamy face to her as she described it, making her thoughts unmistakably clear on the subject.

"He's so wonderful! And so smart! I wish I could do this every day!"

Tikki giggled, drawing a "What?" in response.

"I am sure you would have liked that, Marinette."

"Yeah, no way that's going to happen, right? And I can't risk anything happening to him!"

Tikki smiled and nodded as Marinette went on.

"Don't get me wrong, Chat is reliable, dependable… and kinda sweet at times… though speaking of, where on earth was he, today?"

Tikki turned a bit more serious. "Maybe the same thing that sent Adrien away got him too?"

"That makes sense, I'm sure there would be plenty of girls in love with him… which brings me to my big problem!"

Marinette was now visibly distressed over the implications this reminded her.

"If Adrien realizes just why this happened or what it means… my god, Tikki, what am I going to do?"

She threw her hands up in the air.

"He must never know! Why does my life have to be so complicated?

"Maybe it's because you're a superheroine, Marinette?"

Marinette giggled at her Kwami's words.

"Right as always, Tikki. I can do this!"

Tikki nuzzled her holder, who was now visibly smiling and relaxed, as she lay down in her bed.

"Good night, Tikki!"

"Good night, Marinette!"


	8. The penalty for being a thief

A/N:

Okay, this appeared to be a long hiatus... well, there has been a lot going on. but... I'm still as committed to finishing this thing given that it's been almost fully written (aside from parts needing beta/rewriting), so...

just need to find the right balance between wanting to perfect that thing and releasing it.

Also, I noticed still messes up formatting occasionally. might want to try reading it on AO3. I'll do my best to fix it up

-MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB-

Out in her room, a certain olive-eyed girl gritted her teeth, as she always did after Ladybug saved the day.

 _Damn that Miss Aligner Akuma! Why do I always have to root for one of Hawk Moth's creations, just to see them fail like that!_

Lila Rossi looked out the window, scowling deeper. This time, the battle had taken place close to her home.

Below, Rena Rouge was carrying someone, then laying them down gently. While she could clearly see her movement, a few trees got in the way of a better look as Rena landed. These couldn't hide a flash of orange light from our onlooker, even though Rena's figure was no longer in sight.

 _What a stroke of bad luck! If only I had a better view, I could realize who Rena is behind the mask! This really isn't my day!_

She tried leaning out her window and changing her view angle, to no avail. What she did see, however, is this figure gave something to that person she was carrying a moment ago, and that person placed it on their neck, like a necklace.

 _Wait, could she have given him her necklace? Why would she do that? This is oh so very suspicious._

She knew who the boy was as details of a new student were of value to her, in case she wanted to exploit them.

 _So what the hell did I just see?_

Her gaze turned towards the faux fox miraculous, still on display in her room. It reminded her of a humiliation, one that she was determined to overcome. At the same time it reminded her of empowerment, the rush of power that was Volpina.

 _Maybe… maybe it's not so bad after all? Am I finally going to access… to the real thing?_

She was still cautious with that thought though.

 _No, let's not get carried away. Rena wouldn't give her necklace to someone.  
Or would she?  
And yet, whatever it is, it might prove extremely useful for my revenge plans. This, combined with an Akuma, like what the stupid Chloe girl did..._

She smiled as imagery of her plan played in her mind.

 _Maybe it won't turn out to be so bad after all. Tomorrow would be the time to see that rotten school again after my short absence._

As she turned away from her window, that smile grew bigger and bigger on her face. she put the faux fox miraculous into her pocket and tucked herself into bed.

 _Sweet, miraculous dreams._

Lila was anxious to come to school, like she hasn't been for a while. Finally there was a chance for payback, even if it was a long shot. She hadn't been able to show her face there since Ladybug decided to expose her. It was driving both the desire to be there and get out of there at the same time.

The schoolyard was relatively empty still, as her eyes scanned it wide, back and forth. In a moment, she locked on to her target, collecting as many little details and hints as possible.

He was wearing a necklace, with the pendant tucked under the neck of his shirt and out of sight.

 _So that's a first sign. He wouldn't want something like that out in the open. Let's just hope it's the right one.  
Time for me to make my move._

"Hello, Natsuru!" Lila called to him. "Come have a seat!"

She tried for a reassuring smile at him, which seemed to work as he came over.

"I'm Lila Rossi. Pleased to meet you."

"Hi Lila… I don't think I've seen you around?" he replied, somewhat cautiously.

"Oh, I'm a relatively new student too, but I have to travel with my parents all the time. Makes it harder to connect with others, but I try my best."

 _You do know I research my targets prior, don't you? I'm not an amateur._

"I see… well, I can relate to that."

 _You don't say. What a surprise._

She tiptoed from behind as he sat, trying to get a good look at his necklace. When she failed to do so, she quickly joined him at the bench before any suspicion would arise.

"So, Lila, How do you know my name then?" he asked, eyeing her response.

She tried to gauge his look and indeed he appeared to be at least somewhat suspicious.

 _Not suspicious enough, my dear. Or else you'd be running away, or clutching your necklace._

"Oh, I try to get updates as they come, so I won't stay out of the picture, you know. Especially if it's someone whom I can make friends with, being a new student too."

 _And especially if these updates point out that you might be holding something I want to make mine._

After a few minutes of small talk, Lila felt like she was finally ready. She carefully positioned both her leg and her hand to run the act.

 _It's a gamble, but I think I can make it._

"Class is starting, Natsuru. I hope you make it here, this school can be really nasty sometimes."

He rose up and nodded, leaving towards class.

At least, that's what he tried to do. He suddenly found himself tripping over something, falling flat on his face. He wasn't aware of it being Lila's leg, nor was he aware of what her hand was doing at the same time, namely lifting off the Gecko necklace and throwing the fake fox miraculous on the floor.

"Oh my! Are you ok, Natsuru?" She crouched to help him as she replaced the faux fox miraculous at his neck, his original necklace safely tucked in her pocket, all while keeping her smile on.

 _And I'm done. Bye bye foxy thing. Whatever Rena gave you is now mine._

Lila didn't feel like staying there for another minute though, lest other people who did know her get to call her up on anything.

Back at home, Lila examined the Gecko-shaped necklace. She tried wearing it, but to no effect.

"Oh well, guess that was too good to be true. That doesn't look like the one I had, at all!"

Her excitement at pulling the act successfully turned into deflation.

"And to think I worked to pull that off for nothing more than a plain, useless necklace that doesn't work."

 _Or... does it? It doesn't seem to do anything, at least!_

She poked the thing out of frustration, as a flash of blinding light forced her to cover her eyes with her arm.

As Lila regained her eyesight, she found herself staring at Likk in total awe.

 _Now_ _ **this… this**_ _changes everything. This ain't half bad at all. Or should I allow myself to say, oh so great!_

"It's… it's the real thing." Lila's eyes shone and she let out a small giggle, which quickly turned into bursts of laughter. "Oh, what a great day this is turning out to be!"

"You're… not Natsuru." He looked at her quizzically. "Why did my master give the miraculous to you?"

 _I wouldn't get hung up on that if I were you._

"Oh my dear little creature…" she smiled, booping his nose affectionately. "Don't ask prying questions just yet."

Lila's mind began conjuring an appropriate half-lie.

"You see… there's someone out there who needs to be taught a lesson, yeah? So we figured you'd be helping me teach her a lesson."

Likk examined her thoroughly. "And who would that be?" He gave her a stare, which she did not appreciate.

"Whatever did I say about prying questions?" Lila's tone dropped its friendliness to a scowl, returning a stare back. "I believe I'm your master now, am I not? Now tell me how to transform."

Likk paused for a moment then smiled back at her. "Certainly, mistress! To transform, simply say 'Likk, Scale up.' I would caution against doing it right away, though."

"Why shouldn't I?" Her eyes now glared as she spat it out.

Likk seemed unphased by her anger, his smile not wavering at her change of tone.

"It is better for you to return me to my ex master. That's the least I can do for you now, mistress." He bowed a little.

 _Like hell I'm going to fall for that,_ She thought.

"I kinda doubt that. Actually… I'd like to transform, right now. It's already late for the first lesson. Likk, Scale up!"  
Lila couldn't be any more eager to test her skills out. She could feel her heart beating rapidly at the excitement.

"As you wish!" Likk managed, before getting sucked into the miraculous.

-MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB-

Lila never transformed previously, so she had no idea what to expect. It was no surprise to her that it was quite different than being akumatized. At first, an exhilarating surge of energy passed through, reaching every tip of her body. She felt like she was being filled with some energy whose kind she could not determine. She relished the feeling and anticipated the upcoming empowerment.

Afterwards came mental rapport. It was as if a soft tune was caressing her, urging her to relax and give in. As if someone was wrapping her in fine cloth. The feeling was enveloping her slowly and she gave into it willingly, preparing to embrace the power it was to bestow her.

And then it hit her. Searing pain. As if the very same cloth was now trying to strangle and squish her. It was as if it hardened into a stone or metal suit, being forced upon her. She was terrified but by now she felt paralyzed. Her body wasn't even responding to her anymore, as if it wasn't her own. She felt like she had to resist whatever it was somehow, but had no idea how to even begin doing so. In a moment, she blacked out and lost consciousness.

…

Lila's body raised both arms upwards in a slight cross, hands stretched out, as she began to morph. her hands took on her bright cyan hexagon suit. her hair changed to wavy style honey color and her eyes changed to a different hue of green, together with her mask. her hoop formed on her back and her look completed with gecko-patterned boots, completing the physical part of the transformation.

At the same time, Gecko's consciousness re-formed inside the morphing body, completing its own process exactly in tandem with the physical one.

-MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB-

Gecko looked at the foreign, unrecognized room around her. Pastel colors with a preference to purple, a few masks and posters as decor, depicting locations around the world. Indeed, This was someone's else's personal bedroom.

 _What am I doing here?  
_ She quickly looked at her hand. No note.

 _Is this… a code blue? Could it be? It must be! What else could it be?!_

Gecko picked up the girl's cellphone and opened up the school directory, looking up Marinette's phone number. As she called, however, the contact was recognized. "Evil class representative" it said.

"I guess that pretty much settles it." She hung up on the call before even getting an answer.

Gecko then started reading through as many of her chat logs, computer files and social media accounts as she could. That only made her a lot more certain as to what she was now planning to do. She studied Lila's form and speech via videos on socials.

 _Yes… that should be enough to do what I need to do._

A moment later, she began morphing herself. Eyes turned olive-green, hair shortened and collected itself in two bangs. A red jacket and a dark grey shirt materialized as her armor and mask disappeared. She then admired her work in the mirror.

"A perfect copy, as always." Lila's sleazy voice came out of Gecko, now having fully assumed Lila's form. "And now, we have some work to do." she said as she packed up Lila's cellphone and laptop.

 _Someone's in for a very, very cold dish._

"Lila called me?" Marinette looked at her phone's unanswered call log, extremely puzzled.

 _What could that girl possibly want? She's probably up to no good. Which is a good reason why I should call her and gather as much information as possible._

Marinette called the number back.

"Oh, Hi there Marinette." Lila sounded quite casual about the whole thing, throwing Marinette off-guard.

 _What's she up to? That's not like her to respond like that. That's highly suspicious._

"You called earlier… what is it that you wanted?"

Marinette quickly dialed herself up to alert mode. If that girl was up to something, she'd have to respond in kind. She anticipated either a slew of lies or something to cover up for a slew of lies.

"Ah, Just one question if you may. Is Natsuru next to you?"

 _Ok, not this. Huh? What the… No, he cannot be part of her plans! This is not good!_

"What's it to you?" She suddenly had a much more concerned tone to her, as if she wished her own words had any true capacity to stop Lila.

"Tell him it's a code blue...", she paused, "... commander."

 _Shoot!_

…

 _I have no idea what's going on, but whatever is happening… Ladybug is needed as soon as possible._

She found a private corner and transformed and then went to seek Natsuru, eventually finding him at the courtyard.

"Natsuru, Gecko just called me, as Lila, and said something weird about a code blue."

Natsuru stopped in his tracks as if he was turned to stone, his voice trembled as he spoke.

"Did you… did you just say code blue? This is not good at all! We **have** to save her!"

He pulled out his necklace and threw it to the floor.

"What are you-" Ladybug gasped at the rash move and then remained equally shocked to see that it was a fake fox miraculous, now broken into pieces.

 _Shoot!_

"What the hell is going on? Tell me everything I need to know! We must save Gecko!"

The urgency in her voice mirrored the speed thoughts were racing through her head. Her mind already began running the myriad scenarios of having to fight a morphing and invisible miraculous holder.

"Ladybug…" He paused for a moment as if trying to choose the right words to explain the situation.

"Gecko doesn't need saving right now..."

 _Huh? What… does he mean?_

"... Lila does."

It wasn't long before Lila's likeness appeared on the second floor of the school courtyard, shouting from above. A crowd gathered below for the odd show. This Lila seemed extremely pleased at the gathering below her, almost beaming at it.

"Hello everyone, I'm Lila and I'm basically a low-life loser that everyone hates. I'm also a petty thief and a piss-poor liar. But not anymore! Today, I'm killing off my lying career and any chance I'll ever appear in public again."

She had her phone and her laptop with her, both live-streaming to her social media accounts.

Lila started throwing printed pages from above towards the crowd. These were prints from her private chats, prints of various embarrassing pictures… in short, everything that would make sure someone could never ever appear in public again.

"That has to be one of the oddest Akumas ever… one that's doing positive work!" Alya quipped, much to the laughter of the rest of the girls around.

Lila started reciting those printouts to the live-streaming phone and computer, as well as showing off the more embarrassing bits to the camera.

More and more cheers came from the crowd below.

"Ladybug, are you going to stop her?"

She looked at Natsuru, trying to figure out how he felt about the whole thing.

 _I mean, I guess he was worried she'd take a more aggressive path… but this, this is just fine._

"Of course! It's just… I have to pick up something from the post first. I ordered a food delivery for my hippopotamus." She replied.

"But you don't have a hippopotamus?" he eyed her quizzically.

"Exactly." A sly smirk adorned her face. "Give it 10 minutes or so more. And if you've got any popcorn…"

Natsuru walked away, refusing to watch the show further. After about ten minutes, Ladybug felt quite satisfied.

 _Ok, I think that's enough._

Ladybug hopped on to the second floor of the courtyard, facing Lila's likeness. Lila shut down all live streaming and turned to Ladybug.

"Oh hello there Commander. Are we enjoying ourselves yet?" Lila's likeness asked quietly, smiling at her.

"You have **no** idea. I think she deserved every last bit of it. Now let's go, you need to be de-akumatized." Air-quoting the last word, she winked as she grabbed her and jumped towards a secluded rooftop.

"I was furious, commander. I almost gave her a parachute-free skydiving lesson from the top of the Eiffel tower, I just didn't want you to scrape her off the ground."

Lila's likeness huffed in exasperation and Ladybug nodded in agreement.

 _Yes, that would have been quite unheroic._

"Imagine the scene, Lila begging for Likk to re-transform her, only for him to say he needs to recharge."

 _Okay… I do understand your anger, and the risk she would have posed, but it's time for a change of conversation perhaps._

"So… code blue is for miraculous theft, I guess?" Ladybug asked for confirmation to her thoughts.

"Yep. But this one has a built-in safety mechanism. I'm leaving you to deal with her now, make sure Natsuru gets the miraculous back. Likk, scale down!" Gecko allowed the miraculous to fall into Ladybug's hands, just as Lila's likeness de-transformed into Lila.

That's not quite how Lila imagined this. Losing consciousness in her room only to apparently wake up on a rooftop. The last time that has happened, was when she got akumatized. Has that happened again? Was this whole thing just a bad dream or a bad joke?

"Wait. where am I? Ladybug, what am I doing here? What are **you** doing here? Where's Likk?" she eyed her very suspiciously.

"Talk about self incrimination…" Ladybug smirked, as she waved the Gecko pendant in front of her. "Let's just say your plan didn't work out as expected. If I were you, I'd be checking your social accounts now. Enjoy!" she said as she left.

...

If anyone wanted to find Lila strolling around Paris ever again, they would have had a hard time finding her. That girl was nowhere to be seen around anymore.

A/N:

Turns out fingerprint security might not the best way to lock one's phone *snicker*

also, kids, listen to your kwami.

Lila's just not so good with her miraculouses, now is she?


	9. A tale of three talks

A/N:

So, the reason I haven't posted an update in a while is because I've worked quite a bit to revamp this part of the fic. It's all written but I had tremendous feedback from my betas (thanks!) which is very much needed at this point.

Let the shipping begin!

Visiting Master Fu was limited to times of need. Marinette still had deliberations about what she was going to do or whether she would be right to continue facing the confusion that was Gecko alone. But the information that she was planning on getting could prove crucial. She opened the door to the serene room, walking slowly over the straw mat, looking at Master Fu as he was preparing a teapot and turning around towards her.

"Hello, Marinette. Please do sit. What brings you here today?" Master Fu's warm voice greeted her.

"Master… there is a new Kwami and new miraculous holder in the city," she responded

"Interesting. So Wayzz wasn't wrong about that." He held an understanding smile.

"Wait. Did you know already?" Marinette asked, mostly due to surprise at his inaction rather than getting the answer which was implied.

"Indeed. But it was your choice whether and how to act upon it and how." Master Fu's tranquil voice made it clear that he didn't see any particular urgency just yet.

Tikki came out of Marinette's purse to join the conversation.

 _Yeah, I think she has a stake here too. I know just how curious she is about Likk._

"But, Master, the birth of a new Kwami is such a major event!" she chirped, causing Marinette to smile yet again at her Kwami's excitement.

"Indeed it is, Tikki. We shall patiently wait for that one to introduce themselves when they are ready. I don't know their reasoning in not doing so yet, but I'm sure it's there." Master Fu remained as composed as ever. Marinette had to deal with the more real world aspects of Gecko being around, though.

"But in the meantime, Gecko is causing all sorts of… um, excitement. So far, nothing really bad has happened, but..."

"So, if wasn't anything you couldn't handle, what brings you over, Marinette?" Master Fu mused.

"I still want to clear a few things up. I'm suspecting the surprises aren't done yet." She answered.

"So you've come for Trixx's assistance then." Master Fu smiled yet again as he foresaw Marinette's response.

"So you know that too!" she cried, surprised yet again at his supposed inaction.

"Quite the sight it was. I have my suspicions as to what's happening, but again, it is not my secret to reveal." Master Fu seemed a bit more serious as to that one.

 _Why do you have to keep secrets from me?_

… _probably a good reason. Just like I trust him with my own._

Marinette picked up Trixx's fox necklace, gently placed it in the miraculous box and headed to the empty warehouse which she set a meeting with Alya at.

Same theater, same blue sofas, just a change of the interviewee. Then again, that kind of change made the whole affair radically different, not to mention the circumstances.

"So, Alya, we have yet another guest here today," Ladybug said as she pulled the miraculous box out. "Let's call out Trixx and hear your story out. If you need to compare experiences, you can transform with Trixx and then detransform."

Trixx flew out of the box and spun around Alya, his smile mirroring hers at his sight.

"So, are we going to transform, Alya?" Trixx inquired.

"Not yet, Trixx." Ladybug cooled him a bit. "We're holding an interview about Alya's… ummm... adventures. She transformed with another Kwami," Ladybug answered.

"What? How? Which Kwami?" Trixx was genuinely surprised.

"A new Kwami by the name of Likk, the Gecko Kwami." Alya updated her Kwami about it.

"So, how was it, Alya?" Trixx's curiosity was growing.

"It was too different and too similar… I almost transformed into Rena Rouge!" she replied.

Trixx started to fly around Alya very quickly, much like a small kid running in excitement.

"That is totally amazing! Were you able to use Mirage, too?" Trixx asked.

"No, and I didn't even have a flute! I got a hoop, which is Gecko's weapon," Alya replied.

Ladybug curbed their enthusiasm. "Please, let's start from the beginning. I've been unpacking more oddities than I should be lately, so I'm becoming experienced with that." Alya accepted her suggestion and started an orderly recalling of events.

"Ok. So first thing, I'm responsible for Natsuru's Akumatization. I need to get that off my chest. I told him that there can't be another superheroine and that normal human lives can't align with superhero ones. But… Ladybug, what do **you** make of it?" Alya scratched her head at that.

Ladybug felt awkward now about her inability to discuss the subject much.

"Okay, well. Yes, there is a new superheroine around. Please don't blog about it. I am actually thinking of keeping her presence and identity a secret if we can. Either way, her secrets are not mine to share."

"But… it is Natsuru, isn't it? And I know he, or she, or… augh!"

"It's… uhh… complex. I can't really expand on that at all."

 _I do get your immense confusion, Alya, but you will have to make do with that, for now._

"Also, Ladybug… Natsuru almost made it fighting off the akumatization. He nearly rebuffed Hawk Moth. We could see it. We were cheering for him! But then… it looks like he lost that fight, all of a sudden."

 _Hmm. Now that's some talent there apparently._

"Noted, I'll have to think about that too, even though it doesn't seem to connect just yet. Now let's talk about Likk. And Trixx, we're going to need your attention too."

Trixx nodded with enthusiasm as Alya began sharing the experience.

"The biggest difference between transforming with Likk and Trixx, aside from the weapon and powers granted, is how it felt like I was being studied first." Alya stated.

"Trixx," Ladybug asked, "any idea on why that would happen?"

"Not sure. Let me think this over for the time being." Trixx replied. "But to be honest, quantic theory is Wayzz's expertise."

Ladybug sighed.

"Okay, another question then, Alya. During the fight, I saw you make a move that I didn't expect you to do. Do you have any idea why you did any of that? And in particular, did you feel that you weren't Alya in any moment of time?"

Alya looked at her, puzzled and unsure as she answered.

"I'm not even sure what that means, but I'll have to say no? Unless…" Alya paused as she considered it.

"Unless what?" Ladybug pressed the point, sensing it might be relevant.

"It might be nothing, but something about the transformation felt like Likk was attaching something that didn't fit me. It's probably not related," Alya replied, sounding not too hopeful about the thing.

"Trixx, what do you say about this?" Ladybug tried to correlate her growing contemplation.

"When I draw the suit from the quantic dimension, it just flows. However, I know exactly what's going to be pulled from the quantic dimension and why."

"Now I have a question," Alya interjected. "Do you have any idea why Natsuru tossed his miraculous at me? Is that something he was supposed to do?"

"No, not at all," Ladybug replied. "But, actually…"

With that, Ladybug stopped and concentrated, to try and connect the dots. It appeared that transforming with Likk could have more than one outcome, a lesson Lila would likely never forget. But who's to say which outcome would that be? Had Lila been in control, transformed into a shapeshifting super-villainous version of herself, it would have been an unmitigated disaster.

 _So, were we just lucky then?_

 _Because if not… then… Oh! of course he'd toss it, because… wow!_

"You got something there, Ladybug?" Alya's voice broke her concentration.

"I may have. But unfortunately, I cannot say anything. There's one thing I must ask you, though. Should a hoop-bearing Rena Rouge appear again, please just go along with it and report it as if it's Rena Rouge. I'm leaning towards using that for our own ends."

 _That might just be the coverage I need to keep Gecko as a hidden ace card. I just can't share that with you just yet._

Alya nodded.

"So, Thank you for your interview, Alya. I'm gonna upload it to the RenaBlog." She smirked, a touch of cynicism to her voice.

"Oh sure, rub it in, Ladybug. I have the scoop of the lifetime and you're asking me to hold out!" Alya ranted.

 _Yeah, you're kinda at the end of a joke here, I'm sorry!_

Marinette came to class, late as usual. She looked at Natsuru sitt-

 _Wait. That's the wrong Natsuru. That's Gecko, in civilian attire! Couldn't she have picked a less confusing name? I guess not… I really have to find a better name for her 'civilian' version._

Gecko was there wearing the same outfit she used when she met with Marinette originally at the coffee shop.

"What are you doing here?" Marinette asked.

"Oh, my brother is sick. I just came in to gather notes for him. Is there a problem?"

 _I guess I'll have to play along with that… what are you up to?_

She then noticed Alya coming around, extremely suspicious as she pored over her.

"Hello, you…"

"Hello, Alya. is there something wrong?" Gecko smiled.

"Alya, what are you doing?" Marinette asked, trying to sway her away from Gecko.

Gecko smiled as Alya eventually gave up, dragged away by Marinette.

"Alya, where are your manners?"

 _And how come you always suspect the right things, except perhaps… okay, maybe you don't. But still…_

"There's something suspicious about that girl, I tell you."

Before either could consider that event further though, she noticed a crowding around Alix.

 _Well, that's a relief, I guess. Better this than a crowding over Gecko!_

Alix came to class sporting a new tattoo, which was the reason for the crowding.

 _Yeah, that's about to cause some excitement in class._

"That's such a lovely tattoo, Alix!" Rose called.

"That tattooer did a good job!" Juleka smiled at the result, seemingly content with her recommendation being a good one.

"That must've hurt like hell," Kim quipped.

 _Yeah, all that attention is cool,_ Alix thought, _but maybe I should tell you all that why I did this tattoo is..._

"It's a Yaz tattoo, isn't it? I take it you're from Berber descent?" Max's voice was heard from a short distance.

Alix's jaw dropped for a moment, but just as quickly her surprise turned into a smile.

"Who else than Max would know? You're a genius, aren't you?"

This time it was him catching her off-guard. She didn't expect anyone to know the second thing about it.

"It goes well with your feisty character, you know. Makes perfect sense."

This time it was her turn to blush lightly. But he still went on.

"The tattoo's location on your shoulder… it's not random, is it? Because it's the same one Kahina was rumored to have."

 _He knows_ _ **that**_ _too!_

"Yeah, well, you know…"

 _Why am I fumbling for words all of a sudden?_

"Well, you're the most courageous person I know. I wouldn't think of anyone else taking on Kim's dares like that-"

Kim nodded in affirmation and Max went on.

"-So, I think you're worthy of that tattoo being in that spot."

 _Wow. Okay, that might just be the most unique compliment I've ever gotten. Something only someone like Max could ever say to me. Kahina… The legendary Berber queen… that's… heh. What kind of-_

"Alix." Max's voice cut her thought train as he looked at her with a triumphant look. She suddenly noticed people around her were smiling mysteriously themselves.

"What?" She tried refocusing on what was happening being interrupted from her thoughts.

"... you're blushing."

She was flustered for a moment, then looked back at Max.

"I wouldn't be so smug about taunting a warrior queen." She smiled back.

Marinette went to the locker room to replace the books in her bag. As she slammed her locker door, a familiar face appeared in front of her.

"A-Adrien! Hi! Um. Hello!" Her surprise quickly gave way to her usual embarrassment.

"Hi there, Marinette. I'm asking a few people around about the latest Akuma attack. I'm trying to piece a few details. Were you impacted too?"

 _What? Oh no! No, it's not good!_

"No? Yes? Of course! Not! And love had nothing to do with it!" she waggled her finger at him, then quickly put it away.

 _No! That was the absolutely wrong thing to say!_

"Marinette, are you... lying to me?' he grinned.

"I…"

"Relax, You don't have to tell me who the lucky guy is, I'm just trying to piece the pattern that's all."

"L-l-luc-c-cky guy?"

"Well, If you love him, he most certainly is. Thanks for your help!"

Marinette stood dazed as Adrien left, recovering only after Tikki came out.

"Marinette, are you okay?" Tikki asked and Marinette snapped back to reality.

"Did you hear that, Tikki? He thinks the one i'm in love with is a lucky guy!"

"Well, he isn't wrong about it, is he?" Tikki giggled.

"I would have yelled 'you're the lucky guy' there and then, if it weren't outing me being Ladybug!"

"And being unable to talk properly next to him." Tikki laughed.

"Yeah, that too." She smiled.

Then again, someone else also happened to watch that moment. Marinette nearly panicked at that, but turned out to be Gecko, much to her relief.

"You and your boyfriend are so cute together," she commented, causing Marinette to go full red yet again.

"Uh. Um. Well. No, he's not my boyfriend…" she stuttered, drawing a shocked look from Gecko.

Gecko looked sideways, making sure no one watched them. A moment later, she grabbed Marinette and they were both on a rooftop, a few hops from school.

 _I forgot she could do that without a suit too._

"You. sit. we need to talk. What do you mean by 'he's not my boyfriend', commander?!"

"Uhh, Gecko, I have class…" Marinette protested the sudden hijacking.

"Don't mind that now! I'll do your detention for you. Come on, you have to explain this!"

 _Hmm… that might actually be conveni-... no, not a good thought! focus!_

"Yeah well… I can't deny that I love him now can I? You clearly saw that, and my photo collection..." Marinette let out a soft sigh. While she acquiesced to this reality, all her friends knew it by now. Having to repeat that to Gecko forced her to revisit it yet again, saying what no longer needed to be said around her friends.

"So what happened? Because If he rejected you, then he's an idiot and not worth your time, commander." Gecko protested.

"What? No... I... haven't even managed to tell him how I feel! I'm too shy for that!" Marinette winced at the harsh words aimed at Adrien, and then again did feel a bit warm about how Gecko held her in such high regard.

"Oh!" Gecko exclaimed. "Is that all? We can easily solve **that** . I'll just take up your form and do it for you!"

"Really? You'd do that?" Marinette's excitement got the better of her for a moment. She replied almost instinctively and just as quickly realized this needed to be retracted as fast as possible.

"Wait, What? No! Gecko! What kind of an idea is that?!"

 _I can't even begin to count how many levels of wrong that is!_

Gecko seemed to agree, luckily for her.

"Yeah, I can see it being a bit problematic. He could have follow up questions… maybe it won't be so trivial..."

 _Umm…_ _ **not quite**_ _the problem I saw, Gecko… but I'll take that for now!_

"Gecko, I understand your… uhh.. enthusiasm..."

 _Actually, I'm not quite sure I do? But either way..._

"... but this one needs a real Marinette, not a replacement."

"Oh does it now?"

Marinette looked at Gecko with a very puzzled look.

"What do you mean?"

 _What's she up to?_

"Commander... are you really sure that you're not distinct from Ladybug in a very crucial manner? Maybe we're not **that** different after all?"

"Umm?"

 _I'm not quite sure I like the sound of that..._

"While Marinette may not be able to spit it out, Ladybug might be, or not even need to."

 _Did she just… what… I mean… what?_

Marinette's eyes widened at the suggestion.

"Are you out of your mind, Gecko? Ladybug can't just go and hit on Adrien Agreste!"

Gecko raised her eyebrow.

"Are you seriously telling me that you are going to skip over the love of your life for **that** ? If you have a chance to be with him, you need to grab it with both of your hands and never let go. And if Marinette's hands can't, then maybe Ladybug's should. Please tell me you realize that much."

 _Umm… uhh… well…_

"Gecko, I can't do that! believe me, I want to, but I can't!" She parried back.

"You keep using that word, 'can't' . I don't think it means what you think it does."

Gecko crossed her hands and looked extremely unimpressed as she continued on.

"I **can't** see any valid reason why not. At least not one that does not pertain directly to you being Marinette. Is 'little sister' holding 'big sister' back?"

 _Gecko, what's with that smug look? Oh god..._

Marinette found herself at a loss of words. She knew instinctively that she just had to counter Gecko's folly with a good answer. The problem was, the more she thought about it, the more trouble she had finding a good argument. In particular, one that she could drive past Gecko's actual civilian counterpart existence.

As if that folly isn't a folly at all.

"Why would he have something for Ladybug anyway?"

That one caused yet another eyebrow raise by Gecko.

"Are you for real? Ladybug is in the mind of at least half of Paris's teenagers. And if I were to take it even further, it would be like one of _those_ fanfics at the Ladyblog's forums before Alya removes them, so let's settle for that."

 _Gecko, I didn't need_ _ **that**_ _to think about, thank you very much!_

Marinette turned red at the thought and tried to come up with something else.

"Well, there's my secret identity, for one!" She breathed in relief. She was finally getting the cover she wanted against hitting on Adrien.

 _Actually… why on earth am I thinking about ways on avoiding being with Adrien? That's… wrong! I can't avoid him and I can't not avoid him!_

"As long as you don't leave a glass shoe behind, you should be just fine." Gecko chuckled at that one.

 _She isn't letting go!_

"Come on! It's no laughing matter! He could still find out!"

"Sure, I can already imagine it. Ads **all** over paris." Gecko replied, making a large circular motion with her hands. "'Top model Adrien Agreste is looking for his princess charming. Shy girls need to apply at the Agreste mansion and successfully transform to prove they are Ladybug.'"

Marinette's giggle quickly turned into a hearty laugh.

 _Ok, that_ _ **was**_ _good. I'll hand her that._

"And how would I go about that, anyway? I can't even speak properly next to him!"

Gecko turned a bit more serious.

"You may be able to do so as Ladybug, but you might not even need to. After all, why would Ladybug want to meet with Adrien Agreste? He'll surely pick that up immediately."

There was a pause, which Gecko used to further push her point.

"Plus... you can safely tell him you know him already, if you have enough faith in him not to pursue your identity. And if you don't have faith in him, perhaps he isn't the right one for someone with an identity complex."

"What if anyone sees us together? I can't put him at risk!"

"Will you ever run out of excuses? I got you covered. Take him on a private covert superhero Paris tour on the first date."

Gecko had a slightly mysterious toothy grin to her.

 _So, it's defeat then._ Marinette admitted. _But why does it feel like I've won, too?_

Gecko's voice broke Marinette's internal deliberations about the whole affair.

"I can take up his form if you want to simulate it first." She smirked.

" **No!** " Marinette protested.

"Relax! It's just practice! Don't you want to test your new move?" Gecko couldn't pass up on this sweet, sweet payback opportunity.

"Are you that hell-bent on making this happen, Gecko?" Marinette suddenly became a bit more curious as to her motives, now that she finally relented.

"Well think about it this way, commander. If an invisible, shape-shifting superheroine can't help you, I am kinda unsure who could…"

 _But maybe, just to be sure, I should check up on the guy. If by chance she's in love with someone who's not worthy of it, there's no way I'm letting that kind of thing happen._

After spending Marinette's detention for her, Gecko knew what her afternoon was going to look like. She figured an unclaimed folding chair on a roof by itself wouldn't raise any suspicion. She positioned herself with a nice stack of melonpan and some cold drinks and went invisible. The view of the Agreste Mansion was a pleasing one. It was a well kept luxurious location with a stylish look of architectural art. Its fortress-like protection mechanisms did not deter much from its beauty. It was a bit like upgraded sunbathing which made her feel quite comfy about it.

Unfortunately for Gecko, there was one very important hole in her plan, one which she didn't account for. Namely, that the sight of Adrien Agreste talking to the cat kwami would make her spurt her entire drink quite audibly causing it to rain upon an unlucky and now angry pedestrian down below.

 _What the hell? Are you kidding me?_

She stopped to consider the ramifications of this.

 _If he's Cat Noir behind the mask… then it means… and then… oooohhh dear!_

And then another thought crossed her mind.

 _It looks like the universe can play some seriously mean practical jokes, huh._

She looked at her well-prepared stakeout.

 _I brought cold drinks and melon pan for 3 hours… and I already have the answer I was looking for. He definitely gets a pass from me, They're perfect for each other!_

Gecko chuckled at that thought and then turned to consider her situation. That was the other major hole in her plan, now leaving her with a free schedule for the next 3 hours, a stack of melonpan and cold drinks.

 _What am I going to do with all of it? I could stay and watch him further. He_ _ **is**_ _very easy on the eyes… no, what am I even thinking! Not going that route!_


	10. Superhero dating for starters

The next day, Marinette had no desire to be at school whatsoever. What she wanted was to be done with it and go to the fencing hall to casually appear before Adrien…

 _Maybe I should have asked Gecko to lock us both in a cage, that worked wonders with Alya and Nino!_

…

 _but then he'd ask me to lucky charm… and I'd probably get something that would lock us both forever together, instead of letting us free!_

Their plan was simple. Wait for him to appear in the fencing hall locker room, throw a tiny pebble to make a slight noise, grabbing his attention. Then use that private moment with him and offer a simple date. Just going to a secluded corner in one of Paris's gardens and talking it out. The simplicity of this was compelling enough and also less stressful than more complex alternatives. It had the benefit of being rather discreet too, even if a bit bland. Still, time with Adrien couldn't possibly be defined as bland, so…

She finally reached her position in the fencing hall.

Target. Pebble. Locker. Attention.

 _Perfectly executed… but that was the easy part!_

Adrien turned his head to watch who threw the pebble. The last thing he expected was for it to be Ladybug.

"Listen, Adrien. I… there's something I want to tell you, ok?"

"S-Sure, I'm all ears…"

 _There's no Akuma around… what could that be?_

"Adrien, I…"

 _Is she… nervous? Around me?_

She tried again.

"Adrien, I want to tell you something b-but…"

"Don't worry Ladybug. We have all the time in the world. Anything you want to tell me, I'll..." he stopped in the middle of his reply.

 _Could she… could she have realized it too? After all, I'm not the only one who was trying to figure out how this akuma worked…_

"Ladybug… you figured it out, huh. That akuma the other day."

She nodded, cheeks slightly red. And so he went on.

"Well, I've been meaning to tell you I love you, but I guess I've been outed now…"

She looked at him dumbfounded.

"Wait… y-y-you… love… me?"

 _Wait a minute… she_ _ **didn't**_ _figure this out?_

 _That's impossible. It makes no sense._

…

 _Unless…_

He felt his heart beating, almost losing focus.

 _Unless she thought it was the other way around… because…_

 _No. it can't be. It's impossible._

His heart was beating faster and faster.

 _Me?_

 _..._

 _Ladybug loves_ _ **me**_ _?_

He never remembered himself being so red-faced and so embarrassed. He turned his head away, barely noticing how she did too. A careful look her way finally affirmed this was unmistakably the case.

 _But…_

His mind blanked for a moment at the realization, only to spring back into action as he recalled both were standing against each other.

Slowly but surely, a smile found its way to his face and hers too and he felt he could look in her direction. Cheeks still red, he beamed now.

"So… how about we…" he started, then stopped and let her take the lead.

"How about we… go someplace? To talk?" Ladybug offered and Adrien quickly nodded in approval.

He watched Ladybug type a very quick text message before she gently picked him up and carried him to a nearby rooftop.

Gecko was already at the store when she got the text message.

 _I knew it. I called it! I knew it I knew it I knew it!_

She had more complex plans, having already searched the internet for shops where she could purchase a classic picnic basket for the two. One of the first results quickly and clearly stood out from the others.

"Oh, this is **so** rich! 'Black Cat Delicatessen'! Wonderful choice."

 _Should I bet on them being that oblivious? Then again, none of them figured it out already… No, I really do have to do this!_

"Yes, I'll be taking this."

She paid for the basket and quickly found her way to the point she picked in advance.

Ladybug and Adrien now sat on a Parisian rooftop.

"So…"

"So…"

She really wasn't sure what to do now.

 _I was so nervous thinking about what would happen while I asked him out that I totally forgot to think what exactly to do and say afterwards!_

Thankfully, her communicator beeping helped her refocus. A location was shared with her. It appeared to be a point at the Bois de Boulogne park.

 _What is that girl planning? That park could be nice though, and secluded enough. Hmm…_

She did appreciate the lack of need to think this one.

"Come, We still have a way to go." Ladybug smiled at Adrien and he returned the smile, almost causing her to levitate by virtue of that smile alone, rather than jump up using her superpowers.

Adrien hanging on to her was thrilling; hopping through Paris was never as exciting as this. Having to make sure he didn't fall off her kept her from going all crazy at having Adrien so close by.

 _I just hope he's not close enough to feel how fast my heart is pounding in my chest right now!_

The Bois de Boulogne park was one of Paris's largest parks, sporting lakes, natural flora, some of the best views the town had to offer and last but not least, opportunities to have some seclusion from prying eyes.

 _Given the right spot… this could be amazing. Better trust Gecko on this one… after all, her advice seemed to be spot on thus far!_

As they arrived at the coordinates Gecko sent her, a red-and-white checkerboard picnic blanket was already in place. Placed upon it was a classic straw picnic basket and two warm-up blankets for them to cover with.

"You prepared all of this, Ladybug?" Adrien had an astonished look.

"Umm… I… had something arranged for us, yes. I wasn't sure what I was going to get," she admitted.

 _Gecko… I just hope you didn't go_ _ **too**_ _overboard…_

The labeling on the basket had "Black Cat, Paris" written over it with a large ornate emblem.

Ladybug cautiously peeked at the contents, then drew a short breath as she opened it wide,

revealing a large assortment of charcuterie, cheese, a large serving of salad, fresh baguette for two and cookies.

And a half-bottle of white wine, coupled with two glasses.

"That looks a bit more than just talking…" they both said in tandem, leading to a few moments of flustered silence. "Wow, that's… okay. That's… nice.

 _ **Way**_ _overboard, Gecko! Whatever are we going to do with all of that? And how much did all of that cost?_

She quickly brushed that thought aside though, turning her attention back to Adrien.

"Umm, whoever arranged it apparently forgot or didn't guess we're both minors… but maybe a single glass won't be too bad?" Adrien suggested.

Adrien started to pour a glass for Ladybug, very cautiously.

"Is that… is that enough?" He asked.

"Yes… no... I don't know, just..."

 _What a mess! I shouldn't look like I want to drink too much, or too little, or…_

"Ok then… a toast to 'a bit more than just talking'" he suggested, half-jokingly, but just as quickly going full red at what he had just implied.

"I meant eating together!" he tried a retraction.

"No, it's… it's okay…"

Ladybug figured actually going along with it might be more helpful to calm them both down.

They gently touched their glasses in toast. No sooner than they took a slight sip, they both spurted it out.

"It's... it's water with food coloring!" Ladybug cried.

 _Oh no! Now he's going to think I was just messing with him!_

There was a short pause as both looked at each other, trying to process what exactly just happened.

"Ladybug, the look on your face…" Adrien let out a small giggle and Ladybug quickly found herself giggling as well, slowly turning into full-blown laughter.

 _Phew, okay._

"That prank wasn't half bad. I think someone was suggesting we take things easy." Ladybug conceded and Adrien nodded in agreement, beaming at her.

"Well, it's very hard to take this so seriously anymore. Let's just enjoy the food!"

She finally let out a full-blown relaxed smile, matched by his.

 _Perhaps alcohol wasn't needed to make things a bit less tense._

"Ok, this stuff is downright great!" Adrien said as he munched on a piece of baguette with a smoked sausage and cheese. "My dietician is going to kill me, but compliments on your taste, Ladybug."

She helped herself as well to a piece of baguette with some homemade jam on it. It was as delicious as she thought it would be.

"The view here is great too, the air is so fresh… this is… wonderful."

They both exchanged adoring looks at each other, only to turn them away a moment later, flushed.

A few meters away, an invisible onlooker was watching as the date progressed. She took particular interest in how they'd react to her choice of dessert.

She watched them open up the box. It was a single plate, appearing to be a sweet variation of spaghetti and meatballs, with the spaghetti being made out of strung chestnut puree and the meatballs being chocolate balls with a touch of detailing.

 _Surely they're going to get_ _ **that**_ _hint,_ Gecko thought as she observed them. _Or maybe they've never seen 'Lady and The Tramp'?_

They said nothing about that, which Gecko considered to be a setback. It was fun to watch them eat it, but...

 _God, these two are genuinely hopeless._

After that, they just held hands and admired the view and each other for a while.

"Ladybug… I'd love to do this again. Really. This was amazing."

They both looked into each other's eyes as they drew near each other, but stayed short still.

Their invisible onlooker, however, wasn't quite satisfied with that.

 _No no no. You two are_ _ **not**_ _ending this date in any way other than a kiss._

Adrien could have sworn he felt a slight nudge on his back, gently pushing him forwards for his lips to meet Ladybug's, both of their eyes widening. The sudden touch of their lips made Adrien forget all about that pretty much in an instant, though. Nothing else was of any concern as soon as their lips met. The realization that both of them wanted it helped them relax for but a moment, only to pull apart a moment later and turn fully red.

"Umm… uhh… I… better… Going?" Ladybug said, with Adrien replying in a similar fashion. "Yes… I… something…"

She carried him off next to a metro station and there she parted with him.

"There's no way I'm letting these two mess up next time," Gecko muttered out loud, examining their picnic area after they left. "And to think they almost **didn't** kiss! I'll have to up my game...

But in the meantime... Gecko one, inhibitions zero. Let's keep that momentum up."

After dropping Adrien off, the rest seemed like a blur to Ladybug. The usually crisp and accurate yo-yo movements were replaced by addled zipping around, until she finally reached her balcony.

A dazed Ladybug de-transformed into an equally-dazed Marinette and tried to calm herself down, somehow.

"Tikki… he kissed me! Adrien Agreste kissed me! I thought I was about to faint right there!"

Tikki looked back, partly amused but nonetheless worried.

"Marinette, as much as I hate being the voice of reason right now…" Tikki looked at her "... if Alya sees you like this, there's no way she won't get all suspicious."

Marinette tried her best to dial herself down yet again.

"Okay, okay… you're right… deep breaths…"

 _Yes, Marinette definitely needs to calm down at least for a bit!_

It seemed to be working. Marinette went silent, looking blankly at her phone for a minute or two. But then...

"Tikki..."

"Yes, Marinette?"

"He kissed me!"

 _Oh, This could take a while…_

"Marinette… how will you concentrate at school like this?"

"Sorry, Tikki… I can hold myself. No more 'He kissed me'. Promise!"

 _Okay. I think we're finally done here._

"Tikki…"

 _Or, maybe not..._

"Yes, Marinette?"

" _I_ kissed _Adrien Agreste_ !"

 _Gecko, you broke my holder! I think she's still under the one-year warranty, though…_

The day after at school proved to be a relief for Tikki's concerns.

Luckily for Marinette, her adoring looks towards Adrien just passed as normal, if a bit high spirited, by Alya.

"Someone's having a good day..." She grinned at her.

"Oh yes. How could I not? Just look at him!" Marinette was gazing at the boy from across the courtyard, paying minimal attention to Alya.

Alya just let out a slight chuckle as she patted her best friend's back.

By the time for the evening patrol, Marinette wasn't holding up her show any longer. That patrol was one sporting two dreamy-looking faces. Ladybug, for finally having a date with Adrien, and Chat, for seeing the effect he was having on her.

"Chat, you have a silly look on your face…" Ladybug finally noticed it, still not connecting the dots with her own situation.

"You just seem so happy today, Ladybug… maybe it's infectious." He grinned and she blushed lightly.

"Oh… ummm... "

Somehow, they both knew better than to further pursue this.

Their three-person patrol the day after was nothing like the one before it.

Ladybug still had that dreamy look on her face, but someone else didn't anymore. Chat seemed downright agitated. He'd sneak an occasional look at Ladybug's direction, only to turn his face away with an expression of mild pain and frustration.

This did not go unnoticed by Gecko who was watching the results of her work, puzzled by his behavior.

 _Shouldn't he be sky-high now? I just set him up with the love of his life! What the hell is wrong? This wasn't supposed to go down like this._

Then it dawned upon her.

 _He wants to kiss those lips again and he can't and it's driving him crazy._

She winced a little at that thought.

 _ **I**_ _should have seen that one coming, above all… but time's up anyway, I'm going to tell her and he'll soon be free of that._

Back at home, Adrien was in a total turmoil of emotions. True, he did already figure out that Ladybug rejected him for himself. But only later it dawned on him what it really meant.

 _If this goes on any further… how would I ever be able to look her in the eye? For her to look back and see a partner whom she knows is in love her, wrongly believing that she can't reciprocate? Is this how it's supposed to be?_

 _And how am I supposed to act? As if I'm no longer in love with her? As if it's all nothing?_

 _I can't do this!_

.

"Stupid unlucky cat!" he cried as he kicked his foosball table, alerting Plagg.

"What's with that noise, Kid? Some of us are trying to enjoy camembert."

"I'm glad some of us are still happy with all that mess that's going on." he snarked.

"Hey hey, kid, what's wrong? are you ok?"

"No thanks to you. Don't you get it? She loves me, but now the sight of Chat Noir will only remind her, and me, of the unrequited love I'm foisting on us! I can't just drop the mask even though I'm practically dying to do it right now, both out of love and out of anger."

Plagg didn't seem to care much for this.

"It could have been worse, you know. She does love you."

"I'm sorry Plagg. The thought of putting out the suit makes me feel disgusted and nauseated. I just hope that seeing her smile would help me keep up such a vicious act, knowing that she actually does love me! I'm not built for this thing!"

Adrien sighed.

"You know, there were times I had these dreams. That I would find the guy and out him for not really loving Ladybug, or something of that sorts, and then win her heart. All too many times I wondered who that guy is and what he's done to be so lucky. I even had dreams of beating him up." Adrien had a bitter smile on his face as he admitted it. "Looks like it's the other way round now, isn't it. I'm that guy and I feel like I want to punch Chat Noir in the nose. And that's going to be painful in several ways."

And then there was another home where trouble was brewing, in parallel.

"Marinette, can you come down for a moment?" Sabine called her from below.

"Coming right away, mom!" She went down.

With impeccable timing, an unannounced visitor just burst into her room from her balcony.

"Commander, about Chat Noir, there's something I must tell-" Gecko barged into her room from above uninvited, much to the panic of Tikki.

"Gecko, **don't** !" Tikki cried almost in despair.

"Huh?" Gecko looked at Tikki, then just as quickly realizing what was happening.

 _She knew what I wanted to say… I cannot believe this! Are kwamis that treacherous?_

"You. Come. We need to talk." Gecko's eyes were aflame as the little Kwami shuddered.

Gecko left a note on Marinette's desk. "Took your pet out for a walk, gonna return her soon, nothing to worry about, G"

 _Yeah, you've got nothing to worry about, commander. As for your Kwami though..._

"So. you stopped me because you knew what I was about to say, which means you also **know**."  
Tikki looked back at Gecko. It wasn't hard to figure out she was absolutely livid at her.

 _But… why? What's it so important to you, Gecko?_  
"That's right. Please don't te-" Tikki tried to appease her.

"I didn't ask for your suggestion!" She was cut short.  
"You'll first have to convince me that you have Marinette's best interests now. And note I didn't say Ladybug."

Tikki's head drooped. Before she could think of a good reply, Gecko went on.

"For how long has this been going on?"

"Months now. But she swore me into secrecy!" Tikki winced as she admitted that to Gecko, anticipating she wouldn't take it so well. She tried to soften the blow, unsuccessfully.

"Did she know when she did?" Gecko asked, dashing Tikki's hopes that the scolding would cease..

"No… but…"  
"So is it about being sworn to it… or were you simply afraid she'll yank the earrings and throw them at the wall? All these months! She must have been agonizing herself so bad! Tikki, what the hell were you thinking?"  
 _I was thinking about Paris?! Gecko, doesn't this matter to you just as much too?_

"Gecko… I have a set of duties. I'm a Kwami. a quantic being. I'm not a human being!" she pleaded.

"Well… neither am I. I am **not** like Marinette, mind you."

 _Wait… what?  
That's… Of course, she isn't… but… but… how exactly?  
_"Haven't you noticed, Tikki? I don't have a **human** existence. I'm likely a quantic being myself. I **am** Gecko. Granted, I'm no Kwami. Much closer to human, true. Enough to know perfectly well what it means to cry your heart out into your pillow, which is what Marinette was probably doing all along!"  
 _How on earth could she be a quantic being? But what else could she be?  
_ "I…"

"But Marinette… she isn't Ladybug, **comparatively speaking** . She's still Marinette under the mask. and we don't know if she still would have chosen that! And at any given moment, someone else could become Ladybug, without having to lose the same thing she did."

There was a pause as Tikki mulled the situation and the implied half-suggestion half-threat. Gecko broke the silence.

"Do you care for Marinette… or do you care for Ladybug? I'll ask you one last time, why shouldn't I tell her, and allow her to finally choose between duty and her heart's desire?"

Gecko crossed her hands and stared at Tikki.  
 _She's finally waiting for my response. Here's my last chance to avert disaster. If I figured this right… I think I know what Gecko's motive is.  
_ "Gecko, Marinette made that choice a long while ago. She **became** Ladybug. While you were 'born' into it, she chose it. I was there when she did and there's no separating them now without a very emotional and traumatic separation. So you're still not that different from her. But more importantly, her love isn't mutually exclusive with that."

Tikki watched as Gecko's expression softened and breathed in relief.

 _Looks like I got it right. Phew._

"You're right, Tikki. An identity reveal is quite optional to what we're trying to do. we'll go with that, even if it makes our job harder."  
Tikki breathed in relief.  
 _Ladybug's identity is now safe, and… wait, what? What did she just say?_

"Wait, **our** job?"

"Congratulations, you're the Kwami of matchmaking now."

 _Oh_ _ **shoot**_ _._  
Gecko grinned at her triumphantly as Tikki realized both of them knew Gecko had the upper hand in this conversation.

"Very well. I think I know exactly what you're after now. Marinette is one of the most selfless ladybugs I've ever met. I suspect she might be able to confess her love and realize her feelings for Chat too, if it becomes about him rather than herself. Something tells me your new plans already make a case for that."

Gecko smiled at the proposition and nodded.


	11. If he loves you, then he loves you

When Tikki and Gecko came back, an arms-crossed, toe-tapping Marinette was waiting for them on her balcony.

"Care to explain this?" She stared at the two, motioning at the note.

"We were… talking about Chat Noir, commander," Gecko replied. "Didn't you see how down he looked during the last patrol?"

 _I… I didn't notice. I guess I was too busy thinking about other things to notice!_

"No, I haven't… didn't you two think that you should have waited for me, if something was wrong?"

Marinette transformed into Ladybug and they both hopped away to a more secluded location to discuss the matter.

"It seems like Chat isn't taking your newfound love so well."

 _Of course he'd be… oh, this can't be good._

"Luckily, Commander, I do know someone else whose love is as equally unrequited, and I have good reason to believe Chat Noir will fall for her."

 _Okay… this is… interesting. The idea does have its appeal, and I definitely want him to be happy too… but… something's not right. He's head over heels for Ladybug... Gecko, what are you up to?_

"Who… Who exactly did you have in mind?" She raised her eyebrows, already prepared for a smart-alecky answer.

"You may know her already actually." She handed Ladybug her phone with a picture, smiling.

"Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. A real cutie isn't she?"

 _I_ _ **knew**_ _she was up to something!_

"Ha ha, Gecko. Very funny. I thought you were serious for a moment. Chat being unhappy is a serious matter, you can't just-"

 _Hold it. Wait a moment… Is she..._

"No… you're… you can't be serious. Please tell me you're not serious."

Gecko shook her head.

 _She_ _ **is**_ _serious. Oh my god. How on earth can she be serious?_

"But he doesn't love her! I mean me! I mean… Augh, he loves Ladybug!"

Gecko chuckled at Ladybug's fumbling for words.

 _ **Now**_ _she's laughing. Great, just great._

"Having some identity issues there, commander? Don't you try telling me she's your civilian counterpart all of a sudden.״  
"Gecko, it doesn't make sense. No counterpart, remember!?"

"Then, if he loves you, then he loves you too. Simple, isn't it?" Gecko had an unnecessary innocuous tone to her.

"No! We're… well… oh, **come on you**! This can't work!"

Ladybug groaned. _She's like a matchmaking Alya on steroids._

"You keep using that word, 'can't'. I don't think it means what you think it does. A civilian-slash-superhero relationship can work beautifully. We got proof of that not too long ago."  
Gecko smirked as Ladybug blushed. Just as quickly though, she refocused on rejecting Gecko's shenanigans.

"No, I didn't mean that. Let's start with the obvious reason. He loves **Ladybug**. Seriously now." She huffed.

"Well, Marinette is Ladybug. I believe the only reason he isn't head over heels for you already is just because he doesn't know."

"I seriously doubt that," she responded wryly.

 _But… actually… would he, if… wait, no! No no no._

"Well then, commander, let's see what happens if you give it a shot then. I'm not responsible if sparks fly."

"Sparks… fly." She slowly repeated Gecko's words, blushing at the thought.

 _Sparks… like between me and Adrien? Hey, wait a minute!_

"Aren't you forgetting something? _Someone_. Adrien. I love Adrien! I'm dating him! You helped set us up!"

"Trust me, I am definitely not forgetting Adrien. That would practically be impossible to do." Gecko grinned. "Now, Adrien doesn't know Marinette is Ladybug. Wouldn't he want his good friend to be happy as well? What should Marinette do in this case?"

 _She… does have a point there, oddly enough. I mean… he'd definitely want Marinette to be happy. And we both know Marinette can't compete with Ladybug over Adrien's heart..._ _He's happy with Ladybug. As happy as can be! And Marinette…_

 _No, I am Marinette and Ladybug! And I will be playing with Chat's feelings just the same!  
_ "Listen, Gecko… I promised both Chat Noir and myself that I would never play with his feelings. He means so much to me! Even if what you say does make some sense, in a very weird way... I'm sorry. The answer's no."

"Interesting. Have you noticed how your immediate response to the whole idea was to talk about Chat, rather than yourself?"

"What are you getting at, exactly?"

 _She's right… that's..._

"Why would you do that… why would you even need to make that promise… or stress just how much he means to you… unless you had feelings for him? Feelings which you denied only because of Adrien?"

 _Shoot. I played straight into her hand!_

"Chat Noir is a friend! He's just…"

A certain scene came to her mind, one with Chat holding a rose and kneeling and asking her what might happen if there was no Adrien.

 _Back then… Yes, that's exactly how it happened. Chat asked me what if Adrien weren't here. I couldn't imagine a world without Adrien. I still can't! But… a world where Adrien is happy with Ladybug and Chat Noir is happy with Marinette?_

 _After all… what kind of a cruel joke the universe must be playing on Chat. He must be the second sweetest boy on earth... only to be beaten to it by the first._

 _Have I been repressing my feelings for him… because of Adrien?_

 _Is he really just a friend?_

"Just a friend, commander? Are you sure? I'll say this though, sorting out how you feel about him _as Marinette_ is the right thing to do. After all, he doesn't know he's in love with her. Yet."

 _Sorting out how I feel about Chat… that's… Wait, no. I have to stop this! What am I doing? This is just wrong, so totally wrong!_

"But I am not like you! All this play-pretend…"

 _True, I'm not really like Gecko… but would I be wrong to act as if I am?_

 _Because... if I_ _ **were**_ _like Gecko, I could cheat my way… no,_ _ **our way**_ _, out of this twisted destiny!_

As if reading her mind, Gecko replied.

"True. You're still Marinette behind the Mask. And yet, your two-faceted existence should be an asset, not a burden. Choose wisely."

"I'll… think about that." She said very slowly, still quite unconvinced, but having more than one thing to think about.

Marinette tossed and turned in her bed later.

 _I managed to avoid this question, all this time… but I can't anymore._

Eventually she gave up and went to her computer, trying to distract herself yet again.

 _What should I do? What's the wise thing to do? What would feel right?_

She rose up from her seat only to pace through her room aimlessly, trying to calm down all the incessant thoughts in her mind.

 _Ladybug is Marinette behind the mask. Yet, Ladybug does have a life of her own, sort of. I do live two very different lives as Ladybug and as Marinette! I mean, back when I first met Gecko, I couldn't even realize she wasn't like me, nor could she realize it…_

 _Gecko does have unique insights as to what it means to be a superheroine, about identity… but I don't understand her motive. I'd like to think it's all just about helping me, but…_

 _I have to consult with Tikki._

"Would you believe it, Tikki?"

"Well, I'll believe anything about Gecko now."

 _Especially considering the conversation I just had with her, not too long ago…_

"What am I supposed to do now? She thinks I should date Chat Noir! I mean, she did have some interesting points... No, what am I even saying! She's not supposed to be right! She can't be right! You have to help me find some way to prove her wrong."

"I wish I could, Marinette."

 _But I can't, or else Gecko will make her move! I'm bound to play along with her plan!_

"Wait, are you on her side now?"

 _I am so totally screwed._

"I'm always on your side. Let's figure this out. What is important to you?"

"I love Adrien and I want to be with him."

"Ok, that's good, what else?"

"I won't accept Chat or Adrien being hurt."

"Perfect, anything else?"

"Those are the things that matter, in the end."

"What about Chat? What do you feel for him?"

"That question… if only I had the answer. I'm still looking for it. I mean, I thought he was a friend and a partner and that's where it had to end, but… I just don't know anymore! He asked me himself. 'What if Adrien wasn't there'. As if that option could ever look real… but it does, now!"

"Would Gecko's plan hurt Adrien? Or stop you from being with him?"

"I… guess not? I mean, we wouldn't even have this conversation otherwise."

"Ladybug is Marinette behind the mask. It's your decision how either one of them lives their lives."

"What are you saying, Tikki? That I should go with it? You do realize it's crazy, don't you?"

She paused.

"I… really need a break. I'm going to the balcony to get some fresh air."

Marinette felt like she really needed that break. She drew a long breath of fresh air and looked at the lit city in front of her. As she turned back, a *TH-BMMP* sound greeted her as a black figure landed nearby.

"C-Chat Noir! W-what are you doing here?"

 _No! I'm nowhere near ready yet!_

"I'm so sorry, Marinette. Did I startle you? I was just…"

He sighed.

"... I really needed someone to talk to."

The look on his face betrayed the major conflict he was in.

"Well, I-I'm here for you, you can talk to me."

 _Please, please let this be about something other than Ladybug.  
_ "Ok… here goes. It's about Ladybug." _  
Who am I kidding. As if it could have been anything else.  
_ "Ladybug? What about… Ladybug?"

"It's just... well, she found her love, and I..."

"Oh. I… I'm… how do you feel about it?"

 _Should I really be asking that? What am I doing?_

She almost felt sorry at saying these words, and yet could not help but do so.

"It's… wonderful. You have no idea just how wonderful it is. You should have seen the look on her face. She was beaming with joy. The way she looks when she's happy... "

There was no mistaking his feelings now.

 _He really does love me so much…_

"Wow, Chat… I… don't know what to say. So does that… hurt, when you see her like that?"

 _Why am I asking him this? Do I want him to feel hurt? No!_

"I would be as happy, for her, if it weren't for my own presence there standing in the way of her happiness."

Marinette's heart skipped a beat. He really did love her so much, that he'd put her happiness before his own. And she would have never seen it, until luck had put Ladybug and Adrien together.

 _The love of his life is with someone else… and all he can think of is how this might be hurting… her? Even before it actually did! Even before I noticed the slightest thing!_

 _Oh, Chat…_

Now her own sense of guilt began to seep into her. How could she have not seen it sooner? And worse still, what could she do now?

This was the very thing that made her fall for Adrien. His sincerity. His selflessness. It was slowly workings its way into her, again.

 _This… amazing boy. He was right there all along. Beneath all that flirty facade, such a gentle soul. You deserve so much better than this, kitty. And you knew it, we both knew it, didn't we? If it wasn't for Adrien… but your stroke of bad luck, I think it just ended._

"Marinette, you're blushing."

"Oh… am… I…"

"Whatever am I going to do, Marinette? She's the best partner I'll ever have, and I'm..."

"Don't worry, kitty cat. Have faith in Ladybug. I'm sure she'll understand."

 _Because she does, now._

"She must never know! She can't fix my guilt and it will only make things worse. I don't know what to do!"

 _She can. And she will. You may not know what to do… but she does._

"I'm sorry, Marinette. I shouldn't have put that burden on you. I better go."

"Wait! Don't go just yet. I promise you, things will be alright."

She planted a kiss on his forehead and they both looked at each other's eyes.

Marinette's face blushed slightly as she bid him farewell. "Bye, kitty. See you soon." She said, leaving behind a slightly dazed but clearly a bit happier Chat. Marinette looked up to the night sky with a satisfied smile.

 _What… just happened here, exactly?_ _Was Gecko right? How on earth could she have been right on this?_

 _There's something about her that seems… it's as if she's a magnet for good luck or something._

 _But my kitty… yes, he really is my kitty… will he really fall for me as Marinette?_

 _Guess it's time for me to figure out how the two of me really are close. But if he did love me for who I am… all he needs is to get to know me better, isn't that how it works? Or does it? Could I be imagining it all?_

 _And is it really okay to love two people?_

 _I am oh so screwed._

"What's on your mind, commander?" A familiar voice broke her concentration. A quick glance sideways confirmed her suspicion.

" **Gecko**! You spied on us?"

"Commander, I had no intention whatsoever in doing so."

Marinette wrinkled her nose in disbelief.

"Honestly! When Chat appeared, I immediately tried to make myself scarce. I couldn't move away without drawing his attention, so this was pretty much the only way I could do so without him picking up on me."

Marinette sighed as Gecko continued further.

"I think it's quite good that I didn't interrupt that special moment though. And your kitty really is a special one."

"Hey, hands off my kitty!" She laughed as she pretended to protest Gecko's words.

"Oh, don't you worry about that." Gecko retorted, then quickly cupped her mouth, which did not go unnoticed by Marinette.

"Oh really? How come Miss Matchmaker here hasn't shared anything about **her** love life? Aren't you the expert?"

Gecko seemed taken aback by that statement, her face clouding for a moment. She recovered quickly though to a wide grin.

"Let's successfully sort out your thing first, ok? You have my word we'll discuss it afterward."

"I **will** call you up on that," Marinette replied, already considering her options on the table and imagining the girl squad consultations.

 _There's Juleka's brother, Luka. And Natsuru is already a friend of hers! That might just work out… but, does she even like boys? I mean, she did call Adrien 'hot stuff'..._

… _though I'm not sure if that's proof of anything …_

 _We'll just have to see how things go._

"So... your kitty, huh?"

"You said it yourself, 'he just doesn't know it yet'" She smiled, then turned a bit more serious. "I so wish it was true."

"I still stand by those words."

"I'm going to give it a try. I do have faith in him, but i'm not sure I live in the fairy tale you think this is. I hope you're right."

"Great, commander! I know you won't regret it. And I have the perfect idea."

 _What's she going to drag me through this time?_

Gecko quickly disappeared into the night, before Marinette had a chance to ask yet another question.

 _This had better be good, if I entrust that much in her hands._

"A try… better make my best effort, then. Without further ado, welcome to my world, you two-" Gecko had a devilish smile as she talked to herself.

"-and I'm going to personally make sure the sparks will fly. Guess I lied about that part."

She pulled out her phone and started typing.

Alonzo hi-fived Dana as he replaced her in the shift at the computer room. It was a dream job for a university student, staffing the social media account of 'Le Meltdown', one of Paris's finest gaming and cosplay clubs. It was easy, it had flexible hours and the topic was fun and not as mind-numbing as other similar jobs. Furthermore, it had a hip vibe to it and gathered some bragging rights and favoritism from friends. In short, nothing less than student perfection.

Alonzo cozied up to his chair, took a sip of his iced decaf and looked at the message queue.

 _Hmm, ok. Canned response. Canned response. Forward to sales. Canned response. Can- what the hell?_

In a moment, he spat out his entire coffee and his hands started to shake. He rubbed his eyes and made sure he wasn't fooled by a misnamed account. But no, the blue checkmark told him it was the real thing.

 **[MysteryCosplayer Verified]** Hi there.

 _Oh my god._

 **[LeMeltdown Verified]** (Grinning Smiley)

He typed it and dashed out to the big boss's office.

"Naomi, fetch the big boss out of the meeting. Trust me on this one."

The secretary smiled at him and couldn't help but wonder if his bet was right this once, but it sure was a daring one.

 **[LeMeltdown Verified]** Wha

His enter key slipped. How embarrassing.

 **[LeMeltdown Verified]** t can I do for you?

 **[MysteryCosplayer Verified]** Well, I'm in Paris and I need something.

 **[LeMeltdown Verified]** Could you please

 **[LeMeltdown Verified]** Let me just call my boss. Please don't go anywhere. (prayer emoji)

He had already called the boss, but there was no way he was going to botch this and he definitely needed Joe to see this.

 _What's taking him so long?_

Joe, the big-bearded boss, finally came to this computer bearing a "it had better be **real** good" look, which just as swiftly changed to "oh yes, that **is** something alright."

 _One of the top cosplay accounts in the world. 450,000 followers. Possibly approaching the venue with an offer._

"Alonzo, I'll take it from here personally. If this works out, you're getting a raise." Joe's voice affirmed the good judgment and the possibility for this to make his day a great one.

 **[LeMeltdown Verified]** Hi there MysteryCosplayer. What can Le Meltdown do for you?

 **[MysteryCosplayer Verified]** I need to arrange a party for a few close friends. It will be an open night but I'll require the VIP room and the best your kitchen can offer plus control of the main show. I'll be happy to endorse the venue in return. Would 4 posts do?

Alonzo quickly ran the math on this one, knowing his boss just did too. This was a **very** good return on the exposure, not to mention the evening itself could prove to be a big success. The entire VIP room for this was more than a good bargain.

 **[LeMeltdown Verified]** Any chance you can make it 6?

Apparently, his boss decided to go on the bold side on this. Alonzo looked at the screen with anticipation for the answer.

 **[MysteryCosplayer Verified]** Make me and my VIP guests happy and you'll have your 6 (Grinning smiley). I believe this will be one memorable night.

 **[LeMeltdown Verified]** It's a deal. Enjoy Paris then, dear. Whoever you are. The scene owes you so much, we'll be happy to have you and your friends. I don't suppose we'll get to know who you are?

 **[MysteryCosplayer Verified]** It's a s-e-c-r-e-t. (winking smiley)

The next day at school, Max found two event tickets in his locker.

 _Why two?_ He thought, as a finely written note attached to one answered his mental question.

"Go and invite her. You know you should. You'd never know if you don't try."

For Max, there was no mistaking who would have wrote this, based on the style and the pen used.

 _Natsuru… Do you really think that? Of me? I mean…_

Then again, he suddenly saw Juleka and Rose both jumping with excitement next to Juleka's locker.

 _So, they've got tickets too…_

He walked towards them cautiously.

"So, you've got two tickets?" He offered a slight smile and they both nodded.

"Did you get a ticket too?" Rose inquired, to which his smile turned into a slightly embarrassed one.

"I got two… and I'm...," he stuttered.

Juleka and Rose looked at each other, smiled and then looked back at Max.

"You can do it, Max." Juleka mumbled in support as Rose added, "You two would be cute together!"

Max sighed.

"Are you sure it's a good idea though?" he asked.

Both Rose and Juleka nodded vigorously, making their opinion of the matter settled.

"We'll help you. Alix doesn't bite." Rose answered.

He gave them a funny look. After that scene at the art room, he wasn't sure of that anymore.

"Okay, maybe she does, but gently." Juleka couldn't help herself as Max went red.

Max checked himself in the mirror several times, before going back to class together with Juleka and Rose.

He cautiously approached Alix's table, holding the two tickets at hand.

"Is this what I think it is?" Alix gave him a funny look as he turned pink again. "Gimme those."

He sheepishly handed them to her as he looked down.

...

Alix examined the tickets with intent. She wasn't sure about it, but as she looked at Max, she saw Rose with a hopeful expression and Juleka throwing a "Please don't break his heart" stare.

"Sure, why not then? You're on, Max." She threw a slight smile at his direction.

"G-Great! See you there then!" He quickly withdrew back to his place, trying hard not to bump into a table along the way.

"I'm still unsure about this, you know," she whispered at Juleka after Max left.

"You never know until you try," Juleka answered, to which Alix nodded.

"You two are made for each other!" Rose whispered, to which both Juleka and Alix threw her a stare.

"You'd say that about everyone, Rose. This... could be more complicated." Alix countered, even though she knew pretty much nothing could get through to Rose when that girl had romance on her mind.

There was another person having a strange day at school. Adrien was now looking at Marinette like he never had before. The memory of yesterday's kiss on the forehead was working through him.

 _I never did look at Marinette this way… and now I can't stop thinking about her totally differently!_

 _I mean… this kiss… it wasn't a friend's kiss… and yet it was! Why do things have to be so confusing!_

She was kinda cute. Very cute actually. Beautiful bluebell eyes, pink lips, graceful movements…

 _But she's your best friend! You_ _ **can't**_ _think about your best friend like this!_

… _As if I can help it._

For a moment there, he saw a Ladybug mask superimposed on Marinette, which only made him more certain he was going crazy. Then again, it did remind him that he was already romantically involved with the most perfect girl on the face of this earth, as far as he was concerned.

 _But I am a one girl's man! Especially if that girl is a Ladybug!_

 _But... one of them has feelings for Adrien, the other has feelings for Chat..._

… _Could I be one girl's man, and another's kitten?_

Ok, now he was absolutely sure he was going crazy.

 _Concentrate, you can make sense out of this.  
Marinette is amazing, in and out. I always knew she was, which is why I was so happy with her being my best friend. If she has feelings for Chat Noir, while Ladybug doesn't… And Ladybug seems more than happy enough with Adrien..._

 _There is no way on earth I'm going to let Marinette go through this. The thought of that girl suffering from unrequited love makes me cringe inside. Someone like her? She deserves so much better than this._

…

 _Could she… could she have had these feelings for me for a long time now? After all, when we both met on her balcony that day… how surprised she was, to hear that I loved Ladybug! how she responded when I took her to see the candlelight display… and there she was, withholding it all… just to comfort me!_

 _That girl… that girl is an angel in disguise._

"Dude, are you ok? You seem to have spaced out there. You feeling good?" Nino's voice snapped him back to reality.

"I'm fine, just… thinking."

 _Either not good at all or too good, can't decide yet._

Adrien breathed with relief as recess allowed him to walk a bit and spend more time with his thoughts.

And then, there was another pair of friends making good use of that recess.

"So, Alya, what is it that you wanted to tell me so bad?"

"I don't like to bring bad news… but I think Adrien is seeing someone. Nino tipped me off to it."

"You know, he's not mine..."

 _Though actually…_

"... and he doesn't need my approval to date someone."

… _I do approve of his choice and taste._

"Wow. You're taking this really… well. Way better than I expected… Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Maybe… do you tell me everything?"

 _Yeah, do you, Rena Rouge?_

"I would never hide anything from my BFF! Especially not something like this!"

"Don't worry, you'll be the first to know."

"Know what? Wait… are you suggesting… you have someone else? The most pure and naive girl I know of, double-booking?"

 _Oh, if you had the slightest idea what I'm capable of… or who I really am… oh boy._

Marinette whistled innocently.

"Why is everyone leaving me without answers?" Alya ranted.

 _That's right… It's me at work again…_

"Everyone? Who else left you without answers, Alya?"

"It's… something with Nino." Alya parried hurriedly. "Anyway. Don't change the subject, I'm expecting a full report. Double booking, huh?" She grinned now and Marinette smiled back.

"No comment at the time. But you did remind me of something I had to do."

 _Checking up on my boyfriend, who seemed to behave somewhat odd recently._

Ladybug watched from above as Adrien turned to leave school and wait for his car. She dropped a small pebble downwards and it landed on the ground by his side.

 _It looks like that's becoming my trademark approach, isn't it..._

He looked upwards and spotted Ladybug on the school's roof. He moved towards a nearby alley, where she picked him up. Not too long after they had the quiet and discreet moment both needed on one of the nearby rooftops. Not before they exchanged a few smiles and a quick kiss.

"So... you seemed a bit preoccupied in the last few days."

"How did you know that?"

"Oh! I have eyes and ears at your school."

 _Quite literally, that._

"You really do have my back, huh?" he grinned. "I couldn't be better myself, really. Especially with you around... It's just... umm, it's a friend I'm concerned about."

 _Oh… don't tell me…_

Ladybug looked at him anxiously to complete his story.

"Well, Ladybug… let me ask you this. If the one you loved… turned out to be in love with someone else. What would be the right thing to do?"

 _Could he… does he know? Or… subconsciously? Or does he feel without knowing? Why would he ask me that?_

"Hey, the one I love is right before my very eyes, so how would I know?" she grinned, then turned a bit more serious again.

"I would wish them all the best, that's for sure. But I'm sure that I would search further. I mean, don't we all deserve to get our happy ending, one way or another? I'd like to think that, myself."

 _In fact… that's kind of what I'm planning to do as Marinette, so if it's me you're worried about, you can stop worrying._

"You're right, My lady. Thank you so much. I'd like to think that myself too."

"It's nice of you to worry about your friend. I am sure they will turn out just fine."

 _It's a friend I might know very well after all, isn't it?_

Having put that point behind, Ladybug felt uplifted. She gently took him down and dropped him off at the same alley.

"Don't make any plans for next tuesday!" She called to him just before she parted. "I'll be planning something special, just for us. Bug out!"

And with that, she was gone.

As for Gecko, she still had a task to complete. One more person one needing to get their tickets, this time a personal delivery by the instigator herself.

Marinette barely detransformed before Gecko knocked on the balcony's trapdoor from above.

Gecko smiled as she handed Marinette two tickets to the VIP room and explained it all to her.

"As this is a cosplay venue, it's perfect for you and Chat. He can simply arrive as himself and no one would notice a single thing. I'll help you prepare, I… uhh… have experience in these things."

"Ok, what do you think I should go as? And please don't say Ladybug."

 _I've had enough mind-bending for the day, or the week, or the year..._

"I was actually thinking a light Rena Rouge act. What do you say?" Gecko offered.

"Hmmm… sure, why not? As good as any, I guess."

Gecko smiled at the acceptance of her suggestion. "It's done then. Let me know when you're ready and I'll help you prep up."

"If he accepts." Marinette stressed.

"You meant to say, 'when' he accepts." Gecko stressed back.

 _Maybe you're right, Gecko… maybe you're right._

 _We'll find out soon enough._

 _You had better prepare for the night of your life, Commander. You should soon be locking lips with Adrien again, just this time with cat ears. And as for him, he'll be getting a double dose of Ladybug._


	12. Amour Chasse Croisse

"Now, that was a long day." Marinette thought to herself as she went out to her balcony. "I wonder what else is going to happen today."

Her eyes casually surveyed the view of Paris below, when a certain black figure hopping from one roof to another caught her eye.

"Hi there, Chat… what brings you here again?" She chuckled and batted her eyes.

 _Wait… am I..._ _ **flirting**_ _with him?_

 _That's far too early for what I had in mind! It's not like we're going out on a date or anything… There's a lot that needs to be sorted out first._

From the looks of it, he was caught by surprise, at least for a moment, which brought another thought to Marinette's mind.

 _He's probably the biggest flirt I've ever seen… he can certainly dish it out, but can't take it? Could a real kitten hide behind that tiger wannabe?_

"Well, this balcony does have a unique view."

"Oh, does it now?"

She looked again at the sight of Paris sprawling from her balcony.

"Sure. I didn't mean that one, though."

 _Oh!_

"You really are a flirt, aren't you?" Her chuckle now changed to a full-blown laugh.

Chat smiled in return.

"Actually… I've only ever flirted with two girls."

 _Is that so? Your count isn't quite right there, Mister Flirt. I wonder..._

"Have any of them flirted back?" She couldn't resist asking the question.

"You tell me." He grinned.

 _Tell you all I know, or just the part you expect me to?_

"Well… a friend gave me two tickets to a cosplay venue. Would that count?"

 _No, Marinette, what are you doing?_ Her inner voice chastised her. _You planned on gently figuring out what he means to you!_

"So I can come as Chat Noir. That's... brilliant! What would you be coming as?"

"Well then… allow me to surprise you."

 _What's one more secret between us?_

"As long as it's you behind the mask, I'm sure I'll be happy."

"Don't be late, then."

"Trust me, I won't."

He bowed theatrically as he left, and Marinette stayed to think over the day's encounter. Tikki slowly came out of her purse.

"This sure was a loaded day. This balcony is becoming like a train station! But, Tikki… isn't it odd?"

"Isn't what odd, Marinette?"

"I mean… this went well. Too well perhaps! It was almost… too easy?"

"Well, when you don't get tongue-tied, you really have things going for you, Marinette!" Tikki offered.

 _Seems plausible enough… and yet..._

"I guess! But… I still think I might be missing something..."

"You have your proof right there, don't you?"

With that, Marinette looked away from Tikki and back at the view from her balcony.

"I don't know, Tikki… it's a bit overwhelming. But I can't deny it feels really, really good."

That night, Marinette fell asleep with a wide grin on her face.

Marinette had only a vague recollection of school the next day. Her mind drifted between thoughts about spending time with Chat that day and the date she still had to plan. Her mind alternated between thinking about Chat and Adrien. At the very least, she knew what she was going to wear. Gecko appeared right on time, bearing a high quality Rena Rouge themed costume and a high-end expensive makeup kit.

 _How does she come up with all of that? Is she a magician or something?_

Marinette changed to the costume. It looked mostly like Rena Rouge, but with a long orange evening gown, making it more suitable for an evening out than the harsh combat-ready look of the familiar hexagon suit.

It was then that Gecko started to apply the make-up to her.

"Hold still, commander. Don't move!"

"Sorry, Gecko. I'm still just a bit nervous! It's still a bit too sudden!"

"You shouldn't be. You'll do just fine!"

Marinette stopped talking and let her thoughts run while Gecko continued practicing her art upon her.

"I have a lot to figure out about this… I am not even sure what to expect!"

"I know the answer to that one," Gecko replied. "Sparks."

"I am going to take it slowly, thank you very much," Marinette stressed.

Gecko responded with nothing but a smile as she continued to apply the make-up.

That, however, evoked another thought.

"Say, Gecko, you don't ever need to put on makeup… so how come you're so good at it?"

"Oh! So you decided to be perceptive for a change. It's a long story though, so maybe sometime later."

"Okay, so what about Natsuru, your counterpart?" She inquired yet again.

"Well, when one of us learns a skill, the other learns it as well." Gecko smiled

"Oh?" Marinette tried her best not to let her surprise move thee muscles of her face too much, but Gecko had to stop for a moment. She paused and looked at her hands, seemingly contemplative for a moment.

"So, when I'm doing this… it feels a bit like a muscle memory that I never knew I had."

Gecko shook her head ever so slightly and took a deep breath, then resumed applying the makeup.

"Now, can you hold still?"

Marinette nodded gently as she thought some more about this pecularity, though in a few minutes Gecko's voice broke her concentration.

"There you go, we're done."

Marinette looked at her mirror and turned her head from side to side, appreciating the look.

"That's brilliant. Time for me to go, I don't want to be late!"

Chat climbed the stairs up to the VIP room. He opened the door slowly, only to see Marinette sitting there.

She was wearing a long orange dress gown, matched by very detailed fox-like make-up art and a pair of fox ears. Her blue eyes were clearly visible behind the white-and-orange mask.

Chat drew a short breath, feeling his pulse rise.

 _She looks... stunning._

"Hello, Chat." She beamed at him.

 _Come on, Chat. Do your part. Kiss her hand, compliment her… you know what to do, don't you?_

"Wow, Marinette… you're… b-beau-...tiful..."

 _Why am I flustered like this?_

He kissed her cheek and she kissed his cheek back, and then they sat at the table. Two tall margarita mocktail glasses waited for them.

 _Well, that's a nice treat._

"So… what's it like to be a superhero? Tell me all about it." Marinette asked him as she took a sip from her glass.

"In truth? It's wonderful. I'd be lying if I said 'not as glamorous as it sounds'. There are bad times, and it's a risky job, but not without its rewards."

"Rewards? What kind of rewards?"

"Well… certainly not money, nor fame…"

"... Girls, then?" She laughed.

"You know the answer to that one." He smiled back. "But… actually... **I** don't."

"Oh?"

"You're a bit of a riddle to me, Marinette. The more I think of what I know about you… the more I realize how little I know."

 _And I'm dying to know how this happened, as I suspect it's not a superhero crush thing._

"Says the boy behind a superhero mask?" she returned the question back at him.

"Touche, even though you're wearing a mask yourself right now too."

They both shared a laugh and Chat went on.

"Okay. Without compromising too much of my identity… we may have something in common when I'm not wearing a mask. But obviously, that's all I can say. Then again, this doesn't apply to you at all, now does it?"

Marinette seemed to be thinking a bit on that one.

 _She is hiding something… and I think I might know what. After all, with her best friend being the topmost civilian superhero expert… is she a fan of mine? No, that's not it… I'm missing something._

"Nope, but we have to remain equal on this," she finally answered. "So all I can say is that you're someone special to me. That's all you'll get out of me." She grinned.

"Oh, come on you! I'm definitely going to pry this-" He leaned forward at the table, and their eyes met up close. Both stopped all of a sudden. It felt like a bit of magic in the air as their gazes met.

 _What… what's happening exactly?_

 _It's… it's like a flood of emotion that I can't control, coming as if out of nowhere. I have to get a hold of myself!_

… _Don't I?_

He needed a moment to gather himself.

"It seems like the show is starting below, why don't we watch it?"

Marinette nodded, a smile on her face.

Chat Noir and Marinette both turned their chairs towards the one-way glass, just as the show started.

"Let's hear it for… Sandra!" the announcer called.

Looking at the schedule, tonight's show was featuring a supposed-prodigy teenage singer by the stage name of Sandra, who just entered stage.

Sandra had long blond hair kept in twin ponytails and purple eyes. She wore a short black halter-neck dress with black string on both sides ending at her hip. Complementing the look were black heels and a hoop belt on her waist bearing what appeared to be two colored Easter eggs chained to it.

"Hmm, it's clearly an anime cosplay of sorts… but it's totally unfamiliar to me." Chat ventured.

"I feel like I've seen it before… but nothing I can pinpoint. Oh well…"

Sandra started singing.

"Open your shiny eyes, in the silent night, _fushigi na yoru maiorita..._ "

Her first song quickly switched to Japanese past the first sentence. The audience down the hall was delighted. Even though neither of them understood any of the words, the tune sounded awfully familiar and was catchy enough to enjoy.

Down near the stage though, Juleka, Rose and Max were already having a field day. The reference was not lost on Juleka and Max, and while Rose didn't get it she was very much happy to share Juleka's excitement.

Alix, however, felt left out of it all.

 _He looks like he's really enjoying himself… but I'm pretty sure I don't fit in here, at all._

Max stopped his dancing as he noticed Alix wasn't with him. He looked back and saw her sitting on the sidelines.

"Hey… aren't you coming to dance?"

"No, it's okay… It's not for me. You go and enjoy yourself. I'll sit right here."

"No… it's not okay." Max looked at her. "Come, let's go outside."

"Are you really going to miss this party for me?" She looked at him with disbelief. "I know how much you wanted this. I saw how excited you are."

"If you're not enjoying this… how could I?"

Max offered his hand and helped Alix up, then both left the club and started walking around the block.

Conversation didn't flow much, but both realized it was an enjoyable companionship, all in all. A bit of talking about school and life, some news and gossip… though pretty soon, they felt like they were scraping the bottom of the barrel. Bouts of silence became more and more present.

 _So… he really is nice, and he acted like a real gentleman… but that's just not it, I'm afraid. And as much as I hate to say it… I totally saw it coming. I'm not even sure why I let Juleka and Rose drag me into it._

 _I'm sure he'll understand. He's smart and he's nice, but... love takes more than that._

Inside, the song went on. A moment before the last refrain came, the DJ held the beat for the bass drop. Sandra switched to singing the French dub version and the crowd went wild at the unexpected gesture.  
" _Sans pouvoir te parler, ni même te regarder  
C'est comme un papillon  
Qui chante avec des ailes irréelles  
Sans pouvoir t'attraper ni même t'approcher  
C'est comme papillon  
Au fond de mon cœur troublé_"  
Marinette finally recognized the show.

"It's 'My guardian characters' from TV1! It's an impression of that singer girl from the show. I **knew** it sounded familiar!"

"Oh, what was that show about?"

"Umm… well, it had this girl who was a superheroine, she was in love with a Cat Boy and with a blond guy, and she kinda had to decide between the two. Never watched it to the end, though… I mean, that was _ages_ __ago! So I have no idea how that one ended up."

 _I do wonder though. If that girl was in my place, would she have picked Chat Noir or Adrien?_

 _No, that anime-filled environment is causing me to have weird thoughts. I have enough of these on my own, thank you!_

A knock on the door interrupted them, much to her relief.

"You should be going downstairs now. The singer is calling for you."

 _Oh?_

Chat Noir smiled at her and shrugged, as if to say, "Why not?"

 _Guess we are VIPs, for better or for worse…_

"Good evening Paris! The next song will be one that you already know and love!"

Sandra dragged Chat and Marinette up to the stage. "This song is for our two VIPs of the day. Let's hear it for Rena Rouge and Chat Noir!" She made an air quote motion when calling the names. Cheers came from the crowd.

"This one is dedicated to… well, wait and see. After all, this song always starts with a dedication." She winked.

 _Is she really going to sing_ _ **that**_ _? Well, talk about a coincidence! I guess no cosplay party in Paris would be complete without it nowadays!_

Two assistants came and covered her from sight with two curtains. Rustling noises came from behind the curtains, as well as one of a trapdoor opening.

 _She's probably doing a clothes change, or something._

And then the song started, curtains still hiding Sandra as she sang.

" _Je M'appelle Marinette, une fille comme Les autres_ " the singing began, and the crowd went cheering again. Marinette went slightly pink and a little smile caught up to her.

 _How ironic, someone is finally singing the right lyrics, probably without even knowing it._

" _Mais quand le destin me choisit pour lutter contre les forces du mal, Je deviens..._ "

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Sandra cried, and the curtains dropped to reveal a very, very accurate Ladybug.

 _It's frighteningly accurate, as good as the one used in Clara's original clip shooting!_

Having taken part in the original clip, Marinette found it very easy to follow the movements and enjoy being on stage. She looked at Chat and he seemingly managed with the same ease.

 _Well, this shouldn't be hard for a superhero, I guess._

"...

" _Uh-uh-oh  
Amour chassé-croisé,  
Uh-uh-oh  
Mon cœur aime…_"

And then Sandra put the mic to Marinette's face.

"... Chat Noir ..." Marinette answered, turning into a deeper shade of red.

 _For once, this part of the song is more than just blog commenter's wishful thoughts. Sort of. I mean, both Chat and I, as Ladybug, suggested this line to Clara, but I never thought... it would come to this!_

She looked at Chat again.

Then again, this was nothing compared to what Chat Noir had to endure. Right after Sandra sang the chorus, He found the microphone thrust into his hands.

 _Oh no… now I have to sing the Chat part! How did I get myself into this mess?_

Worse still, Sandra, now dressed as Ladybug, grabbed his hand. Then followed by a twirl and a very very close dip, now eye to eye with him, mere centimeters away. He blushed profusely instinctively, as she was simply way too similar to the real thing for comfort and that put his mind at a major dissonance. The crowd went ecstatic at the dance act.

A second later, he felt himself being twirled again, only to reach a close position with Marinette. The singer continued her moves, now twirling Marinette. Instead of going to a dip position, she grabbed Chat Noir as well, placing both in the dip position, face to face, just as the song ended, with Marinette holding Chat in her arms. Now both were blushing from the proximity, looking at each other eye to eye. All the while the crowd cheered and applauded.

It seemed like time stood still for a moment, then someone from the crowd cried "Kiss him!" and almost in an instant, the entire crowd started calling for the same in a rhythm.

 _I'm… not so good with peer pressure!_

It looked like Marinette wasn't, either. Her hands shook slightly, but she still held onto him. He managed a slight nod, and then their lips met for a kiss, drawing further applause and whistles from the crowd.

A short while afterward, they both opened their eyes almost in tandem. The magic appeared to have ended and their embarrassment kicked in as both of them hurried back to their private room and Sandra went backstage.

"Hey, Juleka, is that our Marinette over there?"

"No… I mean, she does look like her… No way."

"Yeah, the only way she'd be Marinette is if the guy in the Chat Noir cosplay is Adrien."

They both chuckled at the possibility as they returned to jumping and cheering.

Sandra returned to her previous black dress attire and began singing again, and the crowd quickly went silent.

" _I've been hearing symphonies, before all I heard was silence… a rhapsody for you and me, and every melody is timeless…"_

Chat and Marinette observed the show from above in the safety of the VIP room.

"So…" She started.

"So… ummm... that happened," he continued.

"Yeah."

Marinette casually slid her finger across her lips, as if in a bit of disbelief. Both of them found themselves at a loss as to what to do now.

Down on the stage, the singing continued.

" _And now your song is on repeat, And I'm dancin' on to your heartbeat, And when you're gone, I feel incomplete, So if you want the truth… I just wanna be part of your symphony, Will you hold me tight and not let go? Symphony, Like a love song on the radio, Will you hold me tight and not let go?"_

A few minutes after Sandra went offstage, a knock was heard on their room door. They opened it, and Sandra came up.

"I came to give you a little private song, courtesy of the house. Something special just for you. Do you two know Kate Bush?"

Marinette and Chat smiled. While this couldn't top the excitement of taking the stage, it might prove to be a fun finale to a great evening.

" _She wanted to take it further_

 _So she arranged a place to go_

 _To see if he_

 _Would fall for her incognito_ "

She gave Marinette a look checking if there's any response. When none registered, she moved on to Chat Noir.

" _And when he laid eyes on her_

 _He got the feeling they had met before_

 _Uncanny how she_

 _Reminds him of his little lady_ "

His lack of any registered response revealed he was just as oblivious as his table counterpart.

 _Truly and totally oblivious._

"He shouted out…" she sang, and then put the microphone next to Chat to continue,"I'm all yours." She pointed the mic to Marinette for her to continue "Babooshka Babooshka ya ya."

 _These two are genuinely hopeless. What would they have done without external help?_

She picked up the rest of the song herself, bowed, and left the two to enjoy the rest of their evening.

The audience down in front of the stage was demanding their encore, anyway.

 _Hmmm… I think I know what I'm going to sing last._

"Okay… Here we go, then." She picked up her microphone again.

 _Tell me now, pretty baby_

 _You could never stop unaware_

 _(...)_

 _Up Ladybug, never doubt, 'til we find one way, forever_

 _Up Ladybug, got a goal, we'll be fine someday, together_

 _Up Ladybug, never doubt, 'til we find one way, forever_

 _Up Ladybug, got a goal, we'll be fine someday, together_

Alix and Max had gone through more circles around the block that she could count. Conversation that was flowing at first, slowly made way to more awkward small talk and finally to silence.

Alix finally broke the last silence between them.

"Listen, Max, this was very nice of you. It really was. But… I have to be honest with you. I think we're just too different. I'm not sure I see how this can work out."

"There was a very high probability that this would be the result. A more calculated approach should have given that conclusion ahead of time."

He lowered his head.

"I guess I wished that for once, my calculations would be wrong, so-"

"And there's nothing wrong with that, Max." She half-smiled, but winced a bit internally.

 _I do wish it was different too… but I can't deny how things are, either._

"Goodbye, Max. See you tomorrow at school."

"Yeah… see you, Alix."

Both shook hands as they parted.

Still in the safety of their VIP room, Marinette and Chat prepared to part for the evening.

"Marinette, I… I had a wonderful time today."

"I did too, Chat."

"And… there's something I wanted to tell you."

"Oh, what is it?

"I love you."

She paused a second before she responded.

"I know."

Chat gently lifted her face with his finger and they pressed their lips together for a tender kiss.

"No peer pressure this time."

"None needed." She beamed.

"When will we meet again?"

"You know the way to my balcony, don't you?" she laughed.

He blew a kiss her way and slowly left the club.

 _That… that was amazing. It's still feels just a bit weird, yeah… but… I think I can get used to that. Chat is happy. Adrien is happy as well. And as for me… both parts of me, is that even a thing?_

 _I'm thrilled alright._

 _And all it took was a bit of Gecko-like playacting… I wonder what's it like being the real thing. Being anyone you want to, whenever you want to, for anyone you want to… there's no end to what one can do, is there?_

Sandra left the club too. Looking sideways and making sure no one was around, she started to concentrate. In a moment, Gecko took back her canonical form.

 _Well, that was nice then, wasn't it?_ _Guess all those hours doing karaoke had their good use after all. I may have not been fully honest about the sparks flying, though._

 _But damn, these two are as cute as they are oblivious._

 _Amour chassé-croisé, isn't it?_ Gecko mulled the words. _I can't believe I sang_ _ **that**_ _with a straight face._

A dozen hops across Paris later, Gecko made it back to her room.

 _And there's still another date, the one that Ladybug promised to Adrien!_

 _Hmmm… yes, that should do..._


	13. I'll be your dancing flower

The next morning, everything seemed a little more bright and cheerful to Marinette. The birds, the trees, the smell of baked goods… a quick kiss on the cheek to both of her parents and she was off to school, uplifted as she hummed a tune to herself.

She reached class earlier than she usually did. When she arrived, she witnessed an intense conversation.

"Can you believe it? **She** was at the club!" Max exclaimed to Juleka and Rose, barely hiding his excitement as they all huddled over his phone

"How do you even know they're a she, anyway?" Juleka asked him as Rose gripped her arm.

"Fine, you got this point. I'll just wager it's true because she does more female cosplays than male ones."

"What are you dweebs doting about?" Chloe interrupted their conversation.

"We went to one of the best cosplay parties Paris has ever seen yesterday. And MysteryCosplayer was there!"

Chloe huffed. "Bah! Boring dweeb stuff. You are all simply losers. As if such a pedestrian instagram account is worth following."

Max chuckled. "I never said she was an instagrammer, Chloe."

Chloe stuttered for a moment and then retorted. "What else could she be with such a lame name? A mermaid?"

She immediately realized her mistake and tried to cup her mouth, but it was too late.

Now it was Juleka's turn to laugh. "Interesting, you wouldn't be referring to the mermaid cosplay she posted last week, would you?"

Chloe turned beet red. "I have nothing to do with that! I just… umm... followed some makeup designs! Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!"

Just as Chloe left, Natsuru was revealed behind her, a slight smile to his face.

"Oh, that reminds me. I have to talk to Alya!" Juleka exchanged a knowing look with Rose and both left, leaving Max and Natsuru together.

"Hey, so… how did your date go?"

"If I had to sum the good and the bad, this has to calculate to a failure."

Max quickly noticed how Natsuru echoed his own frown at this predicament.

"So she didn't like it, huh?"

"It was a poor match for her interests, and so was I. But… thanks, really. Say, why didn't you come yourself?"

"Oh, I would have loved to, so much!" Natsuru quickly responded, almost instinctively. A moment later, he seemed to backtrack on that.

"But… I… Umm… I had to work on something, so I just couldn't come. Maybe next time."

In parallel, someone else was enjoying Chloe's embarrassment.

 _Yep, that does look like the beginning of a great day._

Marinette let out a slight chuckle of her own. Not too long afterwards, a slight tap on her shoulder interrupted her from further watching the exchange between Natsuru and Max.

"Hey, Marinette… there's something I want to ask you. Do you have a moment?" Alya said in an innocuous tone.

"Sure, what's that?"

"I'll get straight to the point. Yesterday evening, 'Le meltdown'. Juleka spotted a blue-eyed, black haired masked girl, whom the singer referred to as Marinette."

"Okay…"

"Wait! I'm not done yet. That girl was kissing a green-eyed, blond haired masked boy. Now, considering Adrien has a mystery girlfriend, and you have been very secretive lately…"

 _Um… wait… what?_

"You think… that was me and Adrien?"

"Okay girl, who else could your "Chat Noir" be? I never really bought into that double booking excuse of yours."

Marinette just stood there, dumbfounded and stunned.

 _How on earth do I get out of this?_

"So, what do you have to say for yourself, Marinette?"

"It's not her. Marinette isn't his secret girlfriend." Nino rushed to report his new information barging into their conversation, not noticing Marinette was there. Marinette breathed in relief and immediately seized the opportunity.

"See? There's your answer right there. I would have known if I had kissed Adrien and you would have known it too! Do you really think I could hide something like that?"

 _Now, I did... but not at that particular time and instance, and certainly not under the identity you think!_

 _But… since you mentioned that… I do have a date with my boyfriend later today… or should I say, one of them?_

Alya blinked.

"Nino, are you sure about that?"

"Yes, he insisted that he knows her from his line of work. Unless Marinette is secretly making clothes for the Agreste brand, that doesn't make sense."

 _Adrien, you crafty liar!_

 _Well, dear boyfriend, that save ought to earn you a kiss today._

The rest of the school day seemed like a breeze to Marinette. After all, she was supposed to meet a masked Adrien in the arcade today. Gecko promised a lot of cosplayers around to serve as cover.

 _Yes, this day is going just as planned._

Marinette quickly transformed herself for the upcoming date and texted Gecko.

"Remember to stand guard today, and please use Rena Rouge's form. Don't hesitate to call me or Chat Noir as needed!"

"You got it, commander!" She was met with a swift reply, making her content. She slowly entered the arcade hall.

 _The arcade really is a good choice. I guess going around cosplay venues is what we'll have to do._

She quickly spotted Adrien wearing a Carapace mask, together with black trousers and a green shirt.

 _There's no mask in this world that can hide just how good-looking that guy is. Even with that outfit, I swear to god. This is going to be so fun!_

Ladybug surveyed the machines, looking for favorite picks to start with..

"Hey, look!" she exclaimed, excited. "Ultimate Mecha Strike! And DDR! Which should we go with first?"

"DDR. Definitely DDR. It's not like I didn't have a machine in my room for years now."

"So, what shall it be? Butterfly upswing?" she suggested.

"Always hunting butterflies, aren't you?" he chuckled. "I love that song, but let's not jinx it today. I have one even more fitting."

She watched him as he rolled the song carousel with the stick. She smiled slightly and nodded her approval when he chose his song.

"Maybe superheroes exist outside of cartoons too." He winked at her. "Let's go cooperative?"

"'Cartoon heroes' it is, then. Try not to drag my score down." Now it was her turn to wink back.

Then again, it's not like that was going to happen, with her super reflexes combined with her DDR experience.

Playing DDR under superhero-heightened reflexes proved to be an exhilarating experience. It was as if time had slowed. What used to be an effort became almost effortless. She wasn't even aware at the amount of dancing flourish and flair she got by with, including hopping and spinning and even a…

 _Should I do it? Now's the time! 3… 2… 1..._

Ladybug flipped over to a handstand completing the last few notes and holding out for the final freeze.

"Well, I did drag our score down. We have to play this on-par once, my lady,." he jokingly complained after checking the results.

"Well, you'd have to see me without the mask for that to happen," she whispered back.

Adrien looked dumbfounded for a moment.

"Uh, yeah, not the best of ideas, I guess…"

A round of applause at the flair quickly made her realize what just happened, bringing a bashful smile to her face.

 _Guess the show is not just for Adrien… quite a few people around!_

Not a moment later though, the crowd parted to make way for a silver-haired, blue eyed girl, slowly clapping her hands as she stepped towards them.

She wore a black apron with a green and purple pattern over a backless and strapless dress. Complementing it were knee-high bright purple socks, black and green sport shoes and large green mittens.

Clearly a cosplay figure from some anime show, but one that was totally unrecognizable to her.

"So… Is someone gunning for Gretel's record?" she said, but then quickly sported a seemingly sly smile. "Do your best then!"

Ladybug looked at Adrien who just shrugged. "If it's anything like watching you play last time, go for it!". His smile practically made the choice for her. If it had a chance of making him happy, it was worth the while.

"You're on, Gretel."

 _Sorry about your record, Girl…_

"I'm in the mood for some cheery bubblegum dance, how about that?"

 _I can certainly go with that vibe today._

"Okay, you can pick the song."

"Hmm… 'Boys' by smile dk?"

"I prefer something with just one boy, thank you very much."

She snuck an adoring face at Adrien who returned a bright smile.

"Yeah, you don't look the `many boys` type. I'd give you at most two, maybe even less. So, how about 'Dancing Senorita' by Jenny Rom? Would your boyfriend approve?"

 _Guess it's so easy to see through me, isn't it?_

Ladybug turned slightly pink at her comment and Gretel went on.

"Level 17 edit. Lovable, childish trash. How does that sound?"

"Yup, that's better." Ladybug's tone betrayed some of her excitement.

 _I'm_ _ **so**_ _going to wipe the floor with her._

People started whipping their phones out and a few started calling out their nearby friends or texting them.

 _Well, given the handstand they just witnessed..._

Ladybug started spinning the song carousel, as the silver-haired girl stopped her. "No, No! What are you doing?"

up-up-down-down-left-left-select-select.

"Extra heavy unlocked." a mechanized female voice confirmed the code.

 _Ah, right, everybody knows that._

select-select-down-down-right-left-right-left

"Ultimate mode unlocked." the same voice echoed again.

… _And barely anyone knows_ _ **that**_ _one._

"Hey, that's no level 17 edit, that's a level 21 edit"

"Would that be a problem?" Gretel shrugged and smiled back.

 _Wow, she really does mean business. Could I have bitten off a bit more than I can chew?_

Gasps came from the crowd. There was now a noticeable gathering of people and the numbers were growing. This was becoming a real serious business.

"No mortal can do that!" a half-hearted heckle came from the crowd.

"Whoever said we're mortals?" Gretel retorted.

 _What exactly have I gotten myself into?_ Ladybug suddenly realized. _I'm going to be lucky if that girl doesn't totally blow my cover! What is she, a world champion or something?_

Then again, the excitement around her – and more importantly Adrien's cheerful looks he sneaked at her – tipped the scale against the more rational thought.

 _I really hope I won't regret this, but..._

"Are you ready? Let the best 'superheroine' win! No holding out!" She winked at Ladybug, making an air quote gesture at their appellation.

 _Ok… so, 7 seconds until 3 minutes and too-high-BPM of total DDR hell breaking loose…_

" _I'll be your dancing flower, dancing, i'll be your dancing senorita whoa-oh!"_

As it happened, none of the onlookers in the crowd had ever experienced two actual DDR-veteran superheroines playing the game without holding back.

After the 7 seconds of a preamble, the crazy beats came, together with equally crazy impossible arrow patterns on the monitors. Both were now facing a competition of raw reflexes and the ability to lift one's foot as little as needed to make a move. The foot tapping noises were actually not what one would expect, as hitting the panels had to be done somewhat gently in order to quickly switch to another panel. It had a weird feel of wing fluttering at high speed with an angelic touch to it. No one had any semblance of a chance to try and figure out who was leading or who would win amongst the stream of 'marvelous' and the occasional 'perfect' hits. No amount of calls or background noise would break the concentration of these two, as if the entire world was in slow motion.

And just as it started, the magic suddenly ended. The crowd went totally silent as the scores rolled.

Ladybug's score counter started its rise. Normally these things were just cosmetic drama when the winner was already determined. Not this time. It stopped at 99.71%.

Next was Gretel's score. Rising, over 99%, stopping at…

99.38%.

Everyone jumped and cheered for both. But in particular, Ladybug suddenly found herself having a handful of an excited Adrien and a brief touch of lips in a victory kiss. "That was absolutely amazing!"

Gretel bowed and extended a hand gesture.

 _Where have I seen this gesture before?_

"You truly are the best, Ladybug. Enjoy your record. And your boyfriend."

 _That I will do, and you can count on me._

"Ladybug, that was awesome!" Adrien looked at her adoringly. "I still have to pinch myself to check that I'm not dreaming or something."

He then sheepishly looked at the other arcade machines. "Maybe I'll have some luck with another game. Not Ultimate Mecha Strike, though…"

 _Yeah, I guess he watched me fight the Gamer akuma too…_

 _Oh, I have the perfect idea!_

"Do you want to play superhero, Adrien?"

"Uhh… what?"

Ladybug dragged him to one of the newer machines in the hall, a recent introduction.

"Here you go!"

They both looked at the whack-a-mole clone, one with Akuma butterflies instead of moles and a Hawkmoth styled evil-o-meter.

"I thought we weren't into jinxing it, were we?"

"Oh, relax, you!" She giggled as she pressed the start button and both picked up their hammers. A Ladybug-patterned one for her and a Cat Noir themed one for him.

"YOU WIN!" The machine proclaimed, after several rounds of intense beating.

"See, Adrien, we'd make a great team. Today, you're my Chat Noir."

A round of applause from onlookers reminded them they weren't alone.

The two suddenly found their newly-acquired attention a bit overbearing. None wanted to have their disguise blown.

"Now what do we do? There are too many people around, even if they don't suspect anything yet..."

With that, they both exited the arcade and, after a discreet hop upwards, found a more private spot.

"So, will you be my dancing senorita then, Ladybug?" He grinned at her.

She smiled back and took his hand, and they both started to dance slowly, close to each other.

Meanwhile, Gretel left the arcade hall, only to morph herself into Rena Rouge's form a moment later.

 _Someone has to stand guard while Ladybug and her kitty are having all the fun._

Jean-Luc knew life as a day-to-day battle. The transport company that employed him made sure to be late on payments, shortchanging him on expenses like truck fuel and maintenance. He still kept afloat somehow, one loan after another. As bad as it was, he most often felt empowered at his ability to keep things running.

"One day… one day things will be better. I'm sure they will. I just know it!"

That day though… that day was probably not it. As he opened the faucet at his home to prepare the infant formula for his infant, only a few drops came out. It wasn't the first time maintenance issues plagued his home.

"Not that again…" He sighed as he pulled out his toolbox and went outside to check the water mains.

From afar, he saw a golden glint at the mains faucet. Shiny, bright, almost beckoning.

 _Please… I'd give everything for this not to be what I think it is…_

The closer he came to the object, the more it became clear what it was. A paper was attached to the thing, which by now he recognized to be a padlock.

" _Due to your continued failure to maintain your payment balance,"_ the notice read, " _we have been forced to disconnect your supply. Please contact our representative at-"_

He crumpled the paper between his hands, not bothering to read it any further.

In the background, the cries of his hungry infant grew stronger.

"It's… nothing. I'll just go… ask the neighbours… for…"

Light shone on Hawk Moth's lair as its window expanded, triggering a fluttering of the numerous butterflies waiting for their turn.

"The despair of a parent who has lost his trust in his most basic ability to keep his family alive and well. The anger of someone who feels smashed by a system without compassion. Go forth, my precious butterfly, and Akumatize him."

The butterfly didn't take long to reach the sobbing man, still standing by the water mains, gently touching the disconnection notice, as the butterfly outline adorned his face.

"Pipeman, I am Hawk Moth. I can give you the power to douse everyone who wanted to see your family parched and dry."

"May their black souls rest with the fishes, Hawk Moth."

"Adrien." Ladybug whispered softly at him as they danced, "I wish we could be like this for-"

The sounds of ongoing battle disrupted the duo's dance. Both glanced towards the sound in dismay.

"It was too good to last, wasn't it? Stay right here."

Ladybug quickly hopped forward to view the scene closely, leaving Adrien behind.

 _Why didn't she call for backup? I hope at least Chat Noir is already there._

"Thanks for showing up, Ladybug! Now I can finally show him how it's done!"

Gecko (appearing as Rena Rouge, as per her previous instructions) boasted at her from afar, just as Chat Noir arrived, lagging along just a tad behind her.

"Thanks for coming… Did Gecko call you?"

"No, she didn't," Chat replied tersely. "I saw this myself."

With that, both looked at the ongoing battle.

Ladybug saw it all unravel as if in slow motion. Gecko lunged forward and extended her hoop as Pipeman darted backwards. She missed by only a few centimeters, but they now meant everything. In her vulnerable position on the ground and with no ability to shield herself by spinning her hoop, she was immediately hit by a high powered water jet. Then another one. She tried to flip into a standing position, only to be hit by another jet mid-way.

Gecko lay on the ground, hyperventilating and in pain, as Pipeman approached her.

"Good work, Pipeman! Take her miraculous!" The butterfly mask adorned his face.

"What does it look like, Hawk Moth?"

"A tail-shaped necklace."

Pipeman didn't take long to spot a fox tail shaped necklace resting on her chest. He swiped his hand to grab it.

"No!" Ladybug cried.

Gecko wasn't detransforming.

 _What's happening?_

Pipeman opened his hand and realized it was empty.

"What? How could that be?"

 _She's switching the location of her miraculous!_ Ladybug noted with relief. _Good girl! We still have time!_

Pipeman looked back at her and located the miraculous again. This time it was a ring.

He lifted the ring off her finger, or so he thought. A split second before the ring slipped free of her finger, it was gone as well. A quick scan showed him his target was now an anklet, which he managed to unlock before it changed to a pair of earrings. This time however, Pipeman was ready. A quick finger flick sent one rolling off, clacking on the ground.

"Marvelous job, Pipeman." The butterfly mask adorned his face again.

Gecko cried in pain as Pipeman's hand neared the second earring.

"Time's up," was the last thing Pipeman heard before Chat's extended baton batted out his disconnection notice card, straight into Ladybug's hands. She tore it to tiny pieces with fury like Chat had never seen before. Overdoing it, even after the Akuma had already left. The Akuma didn't get very far before Ladybug got a grip on herself. She captured and purified it.

 _I pushed her too much. I pushed her far too much. It was my fault! She could have lost her miraculous, or worse!_

Chat went to tend to the now-detransformed man, leaving Ladybug and Gecko alone.

"I'm sorry, Ladybug. I guess I just wasn't good enough. I can tell that you're disappointed with me."

 _Disappointed… with myself! I should have never let you stand guard alone like this!_

"No. You weren't ready and I pushed you. You wanted to prove yourself to me, but we both forgot about your own well-being."

Ladybug grabbed Gecko by her shoulders and locked eyes with her.

"Never be afraid to say it when you've reached your limit. I need you to know that. Can I trust you?"

"Yes, commander."

"Just… don't let anything happen to you, ok? Not on my watch. Not on anybody's watch."

"I promise. That hurt like hell. I don't want to go through that again." She rubbed herself, obviously still not recovered entirely. "Guess Likk had a point in warning me about never losing my miraculous."

"Right… let me just summon an item. Maybe the healing powers will help you. Lucky charm!" She called it, tossing the item upwards without even looking at it. "Miraculous… Ladybug!"

Gecko was about to leave, when Ladybug stopped her yet again.

"Gecko… did you… did you delay calling us... because of my date?

Gecko stopped for a moment, then turned her head back to look Ladybug.

"Goodbye, Commander," she said as she jumped away.

Chat and Jean-Luc both examined the padlocked water mains, now restored due to Ladybug's restoration.

"Did you know, sir, that sometimes Ladybug's restoration ability malfunctions?"

"Oh? Is that so?" He scratched his head and gave Chat a puzzled look.

"Yeah. Most people never get to see it, though. It really is a rare occasion."

With that, he took a powerful swipe with his baton, shattering the padlock.

"A real shame about your padlock not getting restored. I hope you'll manage."

With that, he quickly nodded and left the scene.

Marinette detransformed on her balcony before heading back into her room. Tikki cautiously peeked out of her bag.

"Hey, Tikki," she said passionlessly, prompting a puzzled look from her Kwami.

"Hey, did your date go wrong? Do you want to talk about it?"

"The date itself… was everything I could wish for. But I am beginning to feel that my life is starting to interfere with my duties."

"What's the matter?"

"Gecko tried to protect Paris alone, just so I could continue with my date. It wasn't the smart choice."

Tikki looked contemplative for a moment, but then smiled again.

"Go and talk to her. I'm sure you can sort this out."

"I already did… but perhaps tomorrow's patrol would be a good opportunity."

"You got this, Marinette. Don't worry."

Marinette woke up late and disoriented that day. She quickly hurried to school but wound up being late again. At least she was somewhat thankful that she had no special plans for today, perhaps just clearing her mind off a bit at the art room.

"Hey, Marinette. You seem a bit down today. Maybe I could show you something to cheer you up?"

Her phone beeped as Max sent her a link to a live stream.

"It's the latest rage, MysteryCosplayer has done it again! She shared the most amazing DDR match ever, live-stream!".

 _Oh no… don't tell me it's..._

Her eyes quickly glanced at the notification. "DDR level: Superheroine".

In the spur of the moment, she had no real way to measure what her performance might have looked like to an onlooker.

"Yeah, that was my feeling too!" Max said in a semi-victorious tone, causing Marinette to be a bit more self-aware as to how shocked she was at the sight of the video.

 _So lucky he has no idea as to the_ _ **real**_ _reason I'm freaked over this._

"Do you play DDR, Marinette?"

 _Uhh… maybe that's not quite the time to discuss this..._

"Sure, it's one of my favorites."

 _ **Idiot**_ _!_ Her inner voice chastised her as Max continued.

"I've tried to run the numbers. I think that in order to hit it this much, you actually have to respond at least 33% better than the human average and repeatedly memorize more than 8 active notes. This really does border on superhuman reflexes and memory."

 _No! Don't overthink it_ _ **this time**_ _, please!_

"Some people are just that talented, Max…" she tried to protest faintly.

That was seemingly enough to get Max thinking and drop the subject entirely, much to Marinette's relief.

That day, she planned on going to the art room and knitting something for Chat Noir. On her way, she ran into Gecko in civilian clothes yet again.

"Hey… umm, feeling better yet?"

Gecko quickly folded her letter into her pocket before answering.

"Sure, it wasn't a big deal after all. I'm planning on going to the art room, I have something to do there."

Both entered the room and Gecko slumped onto a couch while Marinette started to work on her latest creation.

 _My God, what a sloth… hmm, actually, no, she's watching something intently. Or someone… Max and Alix? What's she got to do with them?_

Max spent the whole afternoon with thoughts running through his head. But these had more to do with who shared the DDR stream rather than the one playing. These thoughts accompanied him back home and also as he walked to the art room, to watch Alix work again. But these thoughts just wouldn't let go.

 _Is it really by chance that MysteryCosplayer appeared here in Paris, all of a sudden?_

He considered Natsuru's favorable topics and the fact that he found the party tickets in his locker. Why him of all people?

 _What could he have needed to work on so badly, enough to miss the…_

 _Oh!_

 _Well, Juleka said he wasn't doing it professionally… but… that wouldn't count, technically…_

 _Some people… are just that talented. And their talents aren't left idle, are they?_

 _But, could it really be?_

His jaw nearly dropped at the possibility. He had to check it out.

His eyes quickly surveyed the Art room and, to his surprise, located the person who could answer.

 _Natsuru's sister. Is that all you really are?_

Max cautiously walked over to her.

"Hey, Natsuru… have you… ummm… have you been keeping a secret from us?"

Marinette jerked at Max's words. She felt as if a train wreck was coming, with absolutely zero power to stop it. She had to do something… but what?

Gecko smiled at him. "Maybe, try me!"

 _Please don't. Please tell me he got it wrong._

Marinette shuddered as she watched Max whisper something to Gecko's ear and get answered with a nod.

"Yep. Congratulations Max, You're now sworn to secrecy."

Max looked at her as if he'd seen a ghost.

"I can't believe it. I totally can't believe it!" he mumbled as his legs failed him in the task of walking upright back to his spot in the art room.

"Also, Max..."

He turned his head back towards her.

"You might want to mute your phone for the next few hours."

His hands immediately fumbled as he reached for his phone and quickly muted it, still transfixed by his screen.

 _Aw, shoot!_

Marinette quickly motioned a simple message to Gecko, by pointing at Gecko, then herself, then the door.

 _You, Me, Out. Now!_

Gecko quickly left the room, followed by Marinette, and both went inside one of the empty classrooms.

"Gecko, what the hell was that?"

"What can I say? He discovered my secret identity, fair and square." she grinned.

 _She couldn't be happy about that… unless…_

"You said identity, not counterpart… Gecko, what are you up to?"

In return, Gecko just showed Marinette her phone with her Instagram app open.

"Come on now, Gecko, What does your Instagram account have to do with-"

 _Oh my god._

"Umm… isn't this… abusing your superpowers?"

"Really now," She chuckled. "Considering this is all a chain reaction to you making your appearance..."

"Ehhhh? what?"

"Okay, story time then! When we first heard about Ladybug, you can imagine how excited we both were. But, as it turns out, actually making the move to Paris is really complex. French lessons, flight tickets, accommodation savings, lawyers doing paperwork… we needed money."

Marinette nodded, still listening intently.

"So, the choice of a professional cosplaying career seemed natural, given my, uhh… innate affinity towards it. What do you know, turns out I'm very good at it." She winked.

"My first appearance at a convention, though, was almost a disaster."

"A disaster?"

"As you can guess, I don't cosplay the way most people do. I was at a real loss to explain it. So, that's when I started learning professional makeup."

 _Oh._

 _ **Oh!**_

"That coincidentally solved the money issues too. I became a brand rep for M-A-P cosmetics."

 _So much has happened, and all because..._

"The butterfly effect in action. The wing flap of a butterfly in Paris causing a hurricane in New York, huh?"

"A literal butterfly in this case!"

They both laughed.

"Wait, that's not the end of the story yet. We had everything we needed - all the forms ready and all the money we needed. But Paris is big. We didn't know exactly which school we needed to transfer to. Up until…"

"Oh my god. Chloe!"

"Precisely! Chloe Bourgeois filled the last piece of the puzzle for us."

 _Heh, so that stupid stunt of hers actually helped someone aside from Hawk Moth._

"Okay, that's one hell of a story. But… I do have to ask you something. If you have 450,000 followers… how can you be lonely?"

Gecko paused and gave her a stern look.

"Don't get me started. I don't even run the account myself for the most part, a management company does. How much of Gecko do they really know? What do they know about me? About my life, my wishes, my-"

With that, she stopped for a moment, her face slightly reddened.

 _Is it anger? embarrassment?_

"Anyway, I'll trade it all in an instant, if needed."

"I understand. I didn't mean to touch a nerve." Marinette offered an apology, and Gecko's tone changed immediately.

"No, it's… You've done for me more than I could ever wish for, Commander. The least I could do is share my complex life with you. After all… I'm not so lonely anymore, now am I?"


	14. A tale of two confessions

A/N:

(TL;DR:

If you adamantly claim your OC isn't a self-insert, don't be surprised if she breaks the fourth wall in protest and proves you wrong by yeeting you out of the closet. Good girl, Gecko. Well done!)

So, as you probably noticed, my work hasn't been updated in a while, and here's the explanation why.

Ever since embarking on this journey, I felt personally attached to this work, and yet denied any real material connection, for the lack of a plausible explanation.

That is to say, for me it was nothing but a fantasy, unrelated to my personal life in any way.

Then again, about 3 months ago, I have finally admitted to myself that there might be more to it and once I did that, there was no turning back.

The original characters in this story are in fact a form of self-insert. In particular, Gecko echos my desire to figure out and live as my true self.

A self which by now I know is not straight, nor is it cis, nor is it a man.

Gradually coming out as a transwoman has been an extremely complex endeavour and yet rewarding as well. After a long period of upheaval, I am finally ready to tackle this work again.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me.

...

The day after, Marinette finally felt things being a bit more relaxed. She felt at ease, her look casually landing on the boy sitting in front of her in class.

 _My pretty boyfriend… He's got such pretty eyes, such a beckoning smile…_

Marinette kept looking into his eyes, as she realized this wasn't quite what she was supposed to see.

 _He's looking back at me! Oh no! He's not supposed to see me like this!_

She quickly averted her look, not knowing whether he just did the same. Within a moment, she felt a finger tapping on her shoulder.

"Is there anything you want to tell me, Marinette?" a whisper came about. Alya seemed to be grinning, for some reason.

"N-nothing!" she whispered back. "I was…"

"Maybe you were too preoccupied to see the look on his face…"

She was still grinning at her.

 _If this goes on… wait, what exactly_ _ **is**_ _going on?_

…

 _Does he know? Oh no!_

Alya snapped her fingers at Marinette.

"Focus, Girl…"

Marinette gave her a sheepish smile. "Right, Sorry."

She needed that recess oh so very much.

And so did Alya apparently, as she grabbed hold of Marinette.

"Listen… I'm not sure who Adrien's girlfriend really is, but the way he looked at you…"

"Uhh, what?"

"He's got something for you. I know he does."

 _I don't have even the slightest idea what to make of it now. He has another girlfriend. I have another boyfriend! I don't want him to look at me like that! I mean, sure, I do want him to look at me like that, but not at that particular me. Wait, no, of course I want him to look at that particular me…_

 _Oh hell._

And then again, two other little creatures also had something to do that recess. Plagg signaled Tikki and both quickly flew discreetly to meet up at the roof.

"Sugarcube, what the hell is going on?" Plagg chided her. "Are you purposefully trying to turn my holder's brain into mush?"

"Well… It's…" Her voice was pleading, although she was sure Plagg wouldn't get it.

Indeed, Plagg sighed. "I never believed I'd be the one to play the adult role!"

"Plagg, I can explain..." she tried again.

 _Can I though?_

"It wasn't supposed to be like that! Decisions, sugarcube: Do we want Chat and Marinette, or do we want Ladybug and Adrien?"

"Is that even a question? We want it all and we want it now." A third voice interjected their conversation, as Tikki touched her tiny palm to her forehead.

"I knew it…"

Gecko decloaked just next to them.

"Plagg… meet Gecko." Tikki motioned towards the superheroine, feeling defeated. At the same time, she felt just a tad relieved of the need to explain this.

 _At least I have that going for me_

Gecko made a slight bowing motion towards the kwami.

"What's going on here exactly?"

"Just making sure none of you are going to interrupt my plans." Gecko answered, grinning.

"Is she behind all of this?" Plagg asked Tikki while pointing his thumb towards Gecko.

"And proud of it." Gecko answered before Tikki did. "Let me guess, Plagg: you've never told Adrien anything either, have you?"

Plagg just looked at her wordlessly as Gecko continued.

"Figured as much. Tikki, make sure Plagg doesn't interfere as well. Or else… well, you know the drill. Now I really have work to do, see you later!"

With that, Gecko quickly hurried away.

"What was that all about?" Plagg looked at her, wide-eyed.

Tikki sighed yet again as she recounted all prior events to Plagg.

"Well, sugarcube, there's nothing we can do, then."

"Nothing?" Tikki asked.

"I could get us some popcorn and front row seats…"

Plagg's amusement didn't go so well with her.

"Plagg! We have to do **something**..."

"Fine… Do you at least have any idea why she's doing this?"

"I… may have," Tikki conceded, "But I had better watch this unfold before I jump into conclusions that may cause further mayhem. I'll contact you as soon as I'm certain."

With that, they both snuck back hurriedly before anyone figured out they were missing.

Marinette couldn't even remember how she brushed off Alya at recess or anything else from the hot mess that was school that day. She needed a nice clean break, and it looked like patrol would providethat break.

 _I have so much to think about… patrol routine should be just right for that. Just a little bit of mind numbing is what I need right now._

Indeed, it was. It was a pleasant evening, after all. Paris was as beautiful as ever, and her other boyfriend's companionship was to be admired.

 _Yep, that's my kitty alright._ She gave him an endearing look. _A mix of lame puns, bravery, a touch of foolhardiness and a big heart of gold._

She smiled, almost absentmindedly, as she found herself so at ease.

 _Just look at this ear-to-ear cheshire grin, those beautiful green eyes looking back at me, those cute little ea-_

 _Wait, what?_

 _He's looking back at me! I don't want him to look at me like that! I mean I do but-_

 _Wait a minute._

 _Oh no._

 _Looks like patrol is no refuge from that anymore either!_

Ladybug averted her looks just as Chat averted his, though they both just as quickly returned to look at each other, sporting shy smiles.

"So… uhh nice evening, isn't it?" she blurted out, all flustered and not sure how to respond.

"Yeah, the air is so fresh today."

Patrol suddenly turned all too jittery. Part of her wanted to avoid Chat at all costs, while another part wanted nothing but the exact opposite. She kept her distance, not too close but not too far either. It seemed like Chat was doing exactly the same, or at least properly reading into her mindset about it and following suit.

 _This is a hot mess and I have to deal with it somehow. But… how?_

Luckily patrol was finally over, much to her relief.

 _Do I have any idea how to approach this?_

A stray thought crossed her mind, one she tried hard to repress.

 _No. I'm not calling Gecko to talk about this. This will only backfire in some spectacular way which I can't even imagine yet._

Her fingers seemed to have a mind of their own though, as Gecko's voice was soon heard over the communicator.

"You rang, commander?"

"Umm… uhh… there's something…"

"Don't go anywhere, I'll be right there."

It was but a few minutes before Gecko landed next to her.

"So, what did you call me for, commander?"

"Well, you see…" She played nervously with her fingers

"... on the one hand, things are perfect. Totally and utterly perfect. Adrien is happy. Chat couldn't be happier. But…"

"Let me guess, your 'little sister' is eyeing your boyfriend and you are taking an interest in hers too."

 _God, will she ever stop with this?!_

"Gecko… we're still the same person!" She ranted, then quickly conceded "...which is why it's impossible for me to truly separate the two."

"In that case, maybe it's time 'big sister' and 'little sister' learned how to share." Gecko chuckled.

 _Did she just…_

"Gecko, separating my life into two was one thing, but that could never apply to either Chat or Adrien!"

 _There is no way on earth I am going to date both Chat and Adrien in both of my identities._

Gecko looked like she was about to burst into laughter.

"What's so funny? I don't even know Chat's civilian identity and Adrien doesn't even have two identities!"

"And yet, I see only one solution. Be both of yourself, for both of them." Gecko nodded slightly but not without enthusiasm.

 _She's having way too much fun with this..._

"But… how would Chat feel? And how would Adrien feel?"

"How would Adrien feel? The same as if he knew Marinette, who sits right behind him, was giving him half the deal basically. And the same goes for Chat, too. You're already deep in that water."

Ladybug winced at that, but Gecko was far from done.

"How would you feel if Adrien could give you more than half the deal?"

 _Wow, she sure knows how to relentlessly drive a point. And she's not wrong._

"Nope. Sorry. Not going to do that. Too much for me."

"Funny, but you already are. You're just failing to admit that to yourself."

"Gecko, it was your idea that I could play-pretend as you!" she protested.

"I never said there won't be any repercussions about the part that needs pretending."

Ladybug groaned.

"Look, Ladybug, you now have the **commitment** to give both Chat Noir and Adrien more than half the deal. If they are worth it, and you know they are, they will understand, too."

 _Why are we even having such a conversation? But… seriously? How am I going to explain that? It's impossible!_

… _is it?_

"How on earth did we get to this, Gecko?"

"Easy. You're in love in tandem with two different boys. Adopting a new perspective simply helped you stop being in denial about it. But that's regardless of your commitment to both. You can't have other people suffer for your own problems."

"Commitment…" The word rolled on her tongue as she tried to reconcile it with the reality she found herself in.

It was true.

Both Adrien and Chat were simply amazing in their own way. She could never choose between them and she could never wrap them into one. But would they both accept this reality and embrace it? What if both of them actually do feel the same towards herself? Or namely, her own two identities?

But the thought that she might actually possibly be hurting both was too much to bear. She was already hurting Chat Noir before and hurting herself over Adrien.

 _Could I be inflicting the same thing I felt… to him? Could he be agonizing over not knowing who Ladybug is behind the mask? Could Chat Noir still not be over Ladybug, despite him dating her unknowingly?_

… _Am I really as evil as his Nightmare?_

Her heart went heavy at the thought.

Marinette got very little sleep that night, tossing and turning in her bed.

 _I fight supervillains all the time, and yet this seems so much harder. And the stakes, too! What if I hurt Chat or Adrien? That's the one thing I would never ever want to do!_

The planned transcript replayed in her mind over and over again, including some failure options, but she managed to brush these aside. As painful as this would have been, keeping this secret and the thought she was hurting both of them was too much to bear either.

After all, when it was about **her** , confessing her emotions to Adrien was something that she could never do. But it wasn't about that anymore. This was in no way how she foresaw this confession. On the other hand, as it was about **him** now, she suddenly found herself almost at ease to do it.

The next morning, Marinette tried her best to ready herself to the task at hand. She kept tapping nervously at the breakfast table, drawing her mom's attention.

"Is everything alright, dear?"

"S-Sure! Just peachy and lovely."

Sabine smiled and hummed to herself as she took a few steps back and watched her daughter keep fidgeting. Marinette hurried out and took her spot by the school's staircase, waiting for Adrien to come by. It seemed like an eternity, but eventually Adrien showed up. Marinette gulped as she slowly approached him.

"Hi, Adrien… Listen. There's something I have to tell you."

"Oh! Hi, Marinette. Sure, What is it?"

His green eyes and his voice almost broke her down. _So much for feeling at ease… it's still…_

"I just… I just wanted to say…"

She paused, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them again.

"I love you. I've loved you since the beginning of the year."

Adrien stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her, wide eyed. But there was no anguish or pain in his eyes. In fact, he appeared to be quite receptive. Maybe even… relieved to hear this? She couldn't tell, but something inside her told her that she was doing good. After a brief silence, Adrien opened his mouth to speak.

"Marinette… I…"

She quickly hushed him with a finger nearing his lips.

"D-D-Don't say anything. Please. Any wrong word and someone's heart will be broken."

And that was it. Marinette exhaled, backed away slowly, turned around and started climbing the stairway while Adrien was left to mull over her words.

 _I did what I had to do. It's up to Adrien now. And that's just the beginning of my day._

Marinette finally turned her look away from Adrien as she entered school, only to nearly bump into Alya, who had apparently watched the whole thing as it happened from above. She patted her friend's back, then her smile quickly turned into a more stern look.

"Mari… What on earth was that?"

Just as quickly, though, Alya's countenance softened.

"Please, you must tell me! I'm your best friend! You can't keep things inside all the time!"

"It's just… I didn't imagine it like this. That's all. Sorry Alya, I can't really say more about this."

"You didn't even give the guy a chance to respond!"

"I didn't need him to respond."

"Girl, there is no way I'm letting you off the hook like that."

"Please Alya… just for today, ok? It took all I have just to go with that. I promise."

 _Worse still, Alya… you have no idea what's waiting for me at the evening patrol..._

Alya looked into her friend's eyes and relented.

"Ok. Will do. For now. But don't go through things alone, you hear me?"

She wagged her finger at Marinette.

Marinette finally allowed herself a slight smile back.

 _I knew I could count on you, Alya._

"Thanks, Alya. This means a lot to me. I promise I'll tell you as soon as I can."

If anything was taught at school that day, Marinette would never have remembered it. It all felt like a haze. She vaguely recalled waving goodbye to her friends and going back home. A car honk refocused her to at least mind her personal safety as she crossed the street, but she quickly lapsed again as soon as she reached home.

Marinette spent the time after school in her room, preparing all she had planned for today's patrol. She looked at the brown bag at her desk for the millionth time, concentrating her feelings of hope towards it.

 _So… that's the plan, then. Please let it work like I hope it will. please!_

Marinette transformed and came to the rendezvous point early, carrying that nondescript brown bag with her. Her heart missed a beat as Chat finally came.

"Hello, Milady, what's-"

She hushed him with a finger to her lips.

"Please close your eyes, Chat." Ladybug whispered, and Chat Noir quickly obliged.

With that, Ladybug pulled candles from her bag and placed them on the balcony's edge, lighting them one by one as she went.

She reached for her bag yet again, pulling four red roses and a note, laying them gently on the ground next to Chat.

"You can open your eyes now."

Chat Noir opened up his eyes and quickly scanned the area to see what was it that his lady had set up for him.

It was then when he noticed the four roses and the note below him. He quickly picked it up, his hands a tad shaking as he unfolded it and read it slowly.

 _Three times I rejected your roses, but not anymore. One for Vanisher, one for Glaciator, one for Frozer and a new one from me._

Chat heard the footsteps of his lady behind him and turned around slowly towards her. This was in no way how he had imagined this moment. Her expression was one that he only saw once before, during the sandboy incident. It had remorse all over it.

 _But why? Why should she feel sorry? She has every right in the world to love Adrien! Does she... feel like she stole me from Marinette? Did Marinette steal me… from her?_

He knew she needed him to say something, but he also knew he had to choose his words very, very carefully.

 _Any wrong word and someone's heart will be broken._ The words echoed in his mind.

 _They're in sync, somehow. They must be._

"I take it you've already talked this over with Marinette. I know you wouldn't have moved an inch if you thought for a moment you'd break her heart... or mine."

Ladybug nodded gently in approval.

"Ladybug, I could never stop loving you even if I tried."

The expression of relief on her face signalled him that he was on the right course as he went on.

"But... Marinette's not a rebound. My feelings for her are genuine. And I believe you may know this much already, that it is possible to be in love with more than one person. I had a hard time believing it myself... but I can no longer deny this."

He paused for a short moment.

"And I pray my heart is big enough to be able to return even the least of the love this cat is getting."

They hugged, neither willing to let go for a long while, before they finally broke it, mutually.

"We… still have patrol duty, I guess." Ladybug said.

"Yeah, we do."

"And we're not going to get anything achieved today."

"No, we're not. Maybe we can take this day off."

With that, they both exchanged meaningful smiles, and parted ways.

Chat Noir couldn't tell if there was any other time where his thoughts were so unfocused. Mixed feelings of elation, confusion, worry and curiosity all mixed into an uneasy and yet somewhat pleasant cocktail. The serenity of his quiet room provided him with relief he needed to initially process all that had happened. A quick look at the standstill foosball table and DDR machine and he quickly detransformed to have a much-needed talk with his Kwami.

"Plagg?"

"Yeah, Kid?"

"If I'm supposed to be unlucky… how come today I was spared the need to choose between the two most perfect girls in existence?"

"Some things can counter bad luck, apparently. Like camembert. A day with camembert can't be considered unlucky."

"Oh come on you. I'm trying to be serious."

"With me? You got the wrong Kwami for that. Besides, what's your problem? You said you don't need to choose, then don't!"

"It still feels… weird. Wrong? It's not wrong. But it's… weird! I can't put my finger on it, but there's something I'm missing."

"But, do you know what to do?"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure of that." He smiled knowingly.

"What are you up to?"

"Goodnight, Plagg." He grinned as he tucked himself into bed.

This time it was Adrien's turn to surprise an unsuspecting person on the school's stairway.

He waved goodbye to Gorilla, who kindly agreed to take him to school early, no questions asked. Adrien poised himself, feeling his heartbeat going faster and yet equally thrilled by what he was about to do.

 _The time for hesitation is gone… it's time to act now._

And there she was, hurrying towards school as he stopped her.

"Hey, Marinette… Listen, so, about yesterday..."

"What… about…" a befuddled look on her face.

"Shh, don't say anything. If the wrong words can hurt..."

He grabbed her and pressed his lips to hers, much to the applause of Alya, Juleka and Rose and to the dismay of Chloe, all watching from nearby.

"... then we don't need words at all." He added as he disengaged.

He beamed, bowed slightly and just like that he was gone, leaving behind a dreamy-faced Marinette. He still overheard the conversation that followed, though.

"Well then Mari. I take it back, It seems like you do know what you're doing!" Alya exclaimed.

"Not at all, Alya." Marinette mumbled back, "Not at all."

By now Marinette had become at least a bit accustomed to the craziness her life was becoming. Forcing herself to study seemed to work, in part because she was already two school days behind, despite fully attending the lessons. As she finally returned home and tried to pick up on homework again, the sound of something landing on her balcony interrupted her.

Of course it had to be Chat. He promised he'd come.

"Hello, Marinette." He held a shy smile.

"Hello, Kitty." she smiled.

 _And now we have to dance this dance again…_

"I… uhh… I'm not even sure how to begin explaining this, but..."

 _I really should be sparing him of this._

"You don't need to." She hugged him, then whispered into his ear. "I know you love her. It's okay. I've known it since the day you showed me that candle display."

"... But I want you to know, my feelings for you…"

"I know. Now you should go to your patrol."

"Oh? How did you know?"

 _Oh shoot!_

"Why else would you be transformed?"

 _Phew!_

That seemed to resonate well with him. That or he wasn't his sharpest when he was next to her, the thought of which made her feel a bit warm inside.

"Goodbye, sweet Marinette!"

"Goodbye Kitty, see you soon!"

 _Sooner than you think!_

As soon as Chat left, Tikki came out and they both giggled at each other.

"I guess soon means now."

Marinette picked up the bag she had prepared for this particular patrol and quickly transformed.

Chat seemed quite enthusiastic in greeting her as she reached the patrol meeting point.

"Umm… Ladybug… about yesterday…"

"Have you talked about it with Marinette?" She asked, a slightly sly look on her face.

 _Somehow, something's telling me you're not going to tell me exactly what happened…_

"We… uhh… talked, I guess…"

 _Oh, is that all you've done?_

"Just… talked?" she said, raising her eyebrow as she neared him.

Chat Noir seemed too confused to act.

"Are you sure you didn't do…"

She felt no resistance from him as she pulled him towards her as their lips touched.

"... something like this?"

 _Wait! No! That happened with_ _ **Adrien**_ _, not with Chat!_

She glanced at Chat, suddenly a lot more cautious about what her mix up may have caused. It quickly dawned upon her though that Chat didn't mind it the least bit. She was eyeing a clearly dazed and happy Chat.

"Umm… uhh… maybe?" he blurted out.

 _Okay_ , Ladybug thought. _I'm so deep into it, there's no turning back…_

"We can try that again if you need a reminder."

She watched Chat go beet red and stifled a giggle.

"Ladybug… we already cancelled two patrols… we really have to…"

The touch of her lips against his stopped him mid-sentence.


	15. We're doing what now?

Ladybug waved goodbye to Chat, as Gecko decloaked nearby. Any other day she might have been upset with her, but this wasn't such a day.

"So, that worked out well, didn't it?" Gecko smirked.

"Oh, shush you. We're past that already. I have two questions for you now."

"And those would be?"

"One, how did you know?"

Gecko just stood there, holding on to her smirk wordlessly.

"Fine…" Ladybug relented. "Two, I don't suppose you already have a date planned for us?"

"Of course I do. When I get the chance, I am the matchmaking queen, young and sweet. See you at school tomorrow!"

Gecko quickly disappeared into the night, leaving Ladybug to watch over Paris from above.

 _So… things have been weirder than I could have ever imagined… and yet, everything seems to be falling into place for me, finally._

She looked at the view again, the city lights and the occasional couple holding hands.

 _The city I love, the city of love. How lucky I am to finally be able to share all of this. Everything I've been working to protect, now working to give it all back. It's worth it all._

True to her word, Gecko arrived instead of Natsuru. She approached Marinette during recess and handed her two tickets. "Here's your perfect superhero date then."

"So, is that what you think we should do?"

"It's perfect isn't it? You both get to stay in costume for as much as you want and nobody would suspect a thing.

"I'm not really sure about it… What does it mean exactly?"

(...)

"What's LARPing?" Alix looked at Max as he approached her desk and handed her the tickets. "Look, Max… we've been through this…"

"It's an acronym for Live Action Role Playing. I think you…"

Alix swiftly cut him short.

"Wait, so you expect me to hang about there, dressed in some costume beating people up with a fake sword?"

"Umm…" Max scratched his head and offered a sheepish smile. "It's not that-"

"Heck yeah! This is awesome, sign me up. I'm so going to be there, don't be late!"

Rose and Juleka looked from a short distance, both holding their tickets and holding each other's hands. They smiled at the sight, then looked at each other and grinned.

"So, got a costume idea yet, Rose?"

"Oh no! I have to think of something!"

Rose seemed worked up at the premise and made her way towards the art room.

"Hey, take it easy girl!" Juleka called at her, but to no avail. In a few moments she was gone.

Out in his study, Gabriel Agreste paced back and forth, trying to figure out what the flurry of incidents meant towards his goal. At last he seemed to have an insight as to what was going on.

 _There's a reason we're seeing a lot more of Rena Rouge recently, as well as arming her with an improved weapon._

He played TV recordings again and again, studying the superheroes' motions and their facial expressions. He paused a particular frame and stroked his chin. As he did, his expression slowly changed into a full-fledged grin as he closed the recording and turned towards his assistant.

"Nathalie. It seems like our superhero foes are exceedingly happy recently. I'm beginning to suspect we have two lovebirds around trying to stay off the radar."

"That might very well be correct, sir."

"Which, if I'm right, only puts them straight in the crosshairs," he paused, "if one knows what they're looking for."

Gabriel kept pacing about, contemplating, then looked at Nathalie.

"Now, I know I've asked you for some weird stuff in the past."

Nathalie put up an ever so slight smile, up to that little extent which she had allowed herself to show at the presence of Gabriel.

"You want me to research that subculture."

"They should be thankful to us. Perhaps their love life would be better if they drop their masks. I'll just relieve them of their miraculouses for them to finally be able to love each other properly."

Nathalie tapped on her tablet and looked intently at the display.

"It looks like there's a major roleplay event coming up, sir."

"It seems…" Gabriel said, as he straightened his glasses "... that our team is going to play, too."

A whole castle being allocated to LARPing was a major event indeed. Hundreds of people lined up, their colorful costumes and makeshift weapons dotting the landscape in vibrant colors. Groups of people huddled in the courtyard, the laughs and jests mixed with the sounds of mock weapons being tested by their wielders. The air carried with it the aroma of cooking from the food stands and the scent of clothes that were taken out of storage for the event.

"Wow, some people really have their cosplays done so magnificently!" Max exclaimed as he eyed Ladybug and Chat Noir from a distance. He then examined his own magician cosplay, a green cloak, high black boots and holding a quarterstaff to match. "Meticulously researched and recreated!"

Max had had quite the time and effort, not to mention the knowledge of medieval garments, to perfect his attire for this hobby, so this far from an empty boast.

"I wonder what Alix is going to come as." he mused, pondering how much effort she was going to put into her costume. Just as he did Alix approached, which drew a slight smile to his face.

"But of course… I really should have guessed."

Alix came bearing a black turban and full-body black cape, a traditional amazigh flyssa long sword in her hand, a silver royalty ring and coin-string adornments throughout her clothes.

Max drew a short breath. Stunningly accurate… and stunning, too.

 _She really is a queen in disguise._

He smiled at her almost instinctively.

 _Can't let her go at it alone, now can I? Gotta show what I'm made of, too..._

"So, Alix, it's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum…"

At that exact moment, he felt Alix thrust something into his hand. He cautiously opened it to reveal a gum pack.

"Alix! Why you…"

"Relax, I've always wanted to do that, thanks for giving me the chance."

She smiled back at him and whatever slight upset he had dissipated instantly.

The two groups were lined up against each other. Chat Noir and the hoop-bearing Rena Rouge on one side, together with Alix and Max and a dozen other people. Ladybug on the other, with Juleka and Rose not too far away and a dozen more on their side as well.

"Let the games begin!" The organizer cried, and they all split into starting positions before starting to play.

The rustle of swords and other mock weapons was heard around, as people started to play act in jest. Everybody around was enjoying themselves. Ladybug ran up one of the spires in order to spot Chat, enjoying the magnificent view. Chat himself had to playact being hurt by faux blows from a styrofoam polearm. Ladybug cried at him from the top of the tower "Leave that mangy cat to me!" to which Chat hollered back "Who's afraid of a ladybug?"

 _Oh, you're going to be so afraid in a moment!_

She climbed down the spiral stairway, grappling down with her yo-yo would have been too much of a dead giveaway at this point…

A flurry of activity filled the operations tent running the event. "I need a ruling on poison!" A woman burst into the tent, then just as quickly left. "We have a case of possible dehydration on the second courtyard" another cry came about. Francois kept dutifully logging the events and dishing out answers as quickly as he could, coming up with solutions or dispatching assistants and paramedics as needed.

"All this time I spent preparing for the event was worth the while."

He allowed himself a moment of stretching with content, just as an imposing figure entered the tent.

In a split-second, activity ground to a halt. Everyone turned and looked towards the cop who just entered with what seemed to be a warrant.

"We had an anonymous tip-off about the sale of illicit drugs in the compound. I am afraid your game session ends here as we investigate." Roger announced to the organizer.

"No. But, Officer… please! I…"

"One more word and it's obstruction of justice for you."

"I get it."

Francois sobbed in the corner as more cops started to swarm the tent and gradually tear containers apart, looking for illicit material.

It wasn't long before an akuma butterfly inconspicuously melded into the scene, landing on his pre-prepared judge's staff.

"GameMaster… I am Hawk Moth. Life is but a game, isn't it? Don't you want to show them who's the better player?"

Hawk Moth grinned as the thoughts of the power he was going to grant them materialized.

"People will be talking about this roleplay event for **centuries** to come, Hawk Moth."

The entire castle was engulfed in a purple mist, which just as quickly disappeared.

GameMaster emerged from the tent. No longer a scrawny man, he was now a buffed barbarian figure holding onto a huge two handed sword accompanied by over a dozen goblin bodyguards and countless more goblin soldiers.

"It's time to hunt us a Ladybug and a Chat Noir, pack!"

Growls, howls and cheers were heard from his pack as they all raised their weapons, then spread out to search parties.

Max and Alix looked at each other. What looked like an animated computer game graphic, a bar of some sorts, appeared floating above their head. Alix had one such blue bar while Max had two, a blue and a purple one.

"Alix… this doesn't look good. At all."

Alix looked at that thing, too.

"Is this what I think it is?"

"If I had to take a calculated guess… we're looking at our life bars and my mana bar, respectively."

Alix drew her sword and pointed it forwards.

"It is what it is then… let's win this game and get the hell out of here."

Max gave her a half-astonished, half-adoring look.

 _If that's how this Akuma planned it… there's no one else I'd rather be with right now._

A holographic goblin emerged from a nearby corner, only for Alix to quickly dispatch him with her sword. It magically disappeared just as quickly as it was cut in two by Alix's sword.

"Great going!"

It wasn't long before another two came, one approaching from behind. Max parried its blows with his quarterstaff, then hit it in the shoulder, causing it to dissipate as well.

"You too, Max!"

Meanwhile, another couple was adjusting to the Akuma situation.

"Juleka… I'm scared! What are we going to do?"

"I'll protect you, Rose!"

Rose clung into Juleka's arm as the latter pointed her staff towards one of the incoming goblins. A purple bolt of lightning emanated from her staff, zapping the goblin and causing it to disappear.

"Wow, totally cool!" Juleka smirked.

As scared as she was, Juleka was thrilled with her newfound magical powers.

Another unlucky goblin emerged from behind a corner, only to get zapped as well. Rose looked cautiously at Juleka's mana bar.

"We better make it out before it runs out, whatever that is!" Rose cried.

"Not without Max and Alix." Juleka mumbled. "Not without them."

Rose pointed the way towards Max's last location as both remembered it.

Alix and Max entered the castle's dining hall, looking side to side, as the door closed shut behind them.

"I have a bad feeling about this…"

About a dozen goblins entered the hall via the corridors.

Alix and Max quickly found themselves situated back against back for protection. Alix was armed with her sword, Max with his quarterstaff.

Alix's sword cleaved through three of the goblins and they magically disappeared. Max did a full swing with his quarterstaff and hit the remaining three, causing them to disappear as well.

"Alix! We did it! We beat them!"

…

There was no response.

"... Alix?"

Max looked down at Alix who was lying on the floor. Her life bar was empty.

 _No. Please don't. You can't die here! You can't die to an Akuma! It's not fair!_

Max looked at her and looked at his hands and felt useless. Useless like he'd never felt before.

 _There's nothing I can do to save her. She fought for me… and what could I do? Nothing._

 _What good am I, if I can't fight? All this knowledge… all these facts I can think of… what's it good for?_

 _Useless._

 _Stupid, useless facts. Pieces of information. I know all there is to know about LARPing and all this knowledge can't change…_

…

 _ **Yes, it can!**_

...

Max gathered his courage as he bellowed it out loud.

...

" **GameMaster! Is there a revive rule in play?** "

"Yes." It was a terse answer that meant everything to Max. He didn't have much time to do it, though. Any shard of embarrassment had to be cast aside, as he put his lips next to hers and started doing fake CPR motions, to signify the life transfer.

Alix suddenly coughed and jerked. Max couldn't be happier to see his life bar go down and hers go up.

Which is exactly when what he was doing caught up to him and he jumped backwards, all flustered.

A goblin peeking from a corner reminded them they had no time to dig deep into this just yet. Max quickly shut the door behind them as they proceeded along the corridor, just as they heard two familiar voices along the way. Both dashed in a hurry to reunite with their friends and check up on them.

"Juleka! Rose! You're safe!"

"I'm so afraid, Max. What's happening?" Rose chirped.

"It seems like the Akuma has turned our role-play into reality. Alix has become barbarian-class, I've been turned into a sage class and I believe Juleka became a witch-class. What about you, Rose?"

"I didn't even make a proper costume… I did prepare something, but it's probably nothing. I just… put some food coloring drops and water into spare perfume bottles I had at home."

Max gave her the weirdest look ever.

"I'm sorry Max… that's all I could do!" she cowered.

"How many of these bottles have you made?" Max inquired with a hint of enthusiasm.

"Around a dozen?" she said, a hopeful tone overtaking her previous cowering one.

"Rose, you're a **genius**! You saved us all! You're also a sage-class and those potions… are just what we need now!"

"Really?" she chirped, almost delighted at her unforeseen success.

Max looked at these potions like the treasure they were. He handed two blue healing potions to Alix, took a mana potions for himself, and passed a second one to Juleka. As they gulped them down, their health and mana bars recovered instantly.

"Juleka… your turn now. The spell we need is 'protectium invisibus'."

Juleka grinned. "I've always wanted to do that…"

Under Juleka's defensive spell and banded together, the goblins proved little threat. Alix cut a path through for them to escape the castle in no time.

It wasn't long before one of the search parties got sight of Ladybug and Gecko. While they dispatched most of them with ease, new ones kept respawning, forcing the pair to hide in a room as they couldn't push through out to the open area. For a moment it seemed like the two were safe in the storage room, before the door crashed.

The GameMaster found himself in a room with two Ladybugs in both corners. He had them outnumbered with the team of goblins and wasn't the least concerned.

"At last… victory is going to be mine. Hawk Moth, can you hear me?"

There was no answer.

"Who needs him anyway… One by one it is then…" he said as he approached one of the Ladybugs. He grabbed her and removed her earrings.

Nothing was happening.

"So, now we know who's the right one of them. Let's leave this fake one here."

He and his cohort left her in the corner of the room and walked towards the other Ladybug.

"Hey, game's not over yet, you know," she said as she slowly rose up and jumped at him.

He turned around, only to have a hoop smacking his face hard, knocking him down.

"Commander, duck!" Gecko-Ladybugcalled as she spun her hoop and then immediately extended it as far as she could. In a moment, all the goblin henchmen disappeared and GameMaster found himself deflected and thrown toward the room's corner.

Seizing the opportunity, Gecko-Ladybug jumped at him and broke his sword in two.

"I think I just beat the final boss."

The Akuma left the staff from the breakage point, and the real Ladybug was quick to claim it.

"Time to De-Evilize!" she shouted as she swung her yo-yo at the fleeing Akuma. She grabbed it and released a pure white butterfly.

"Bye bye, little butterfly."

Gecko morphed herself back to Rena Rouge form, a moment before Chat Noir rejoined them.

"Milady… are you ok?"

"Perhaps playing at the wrong teams wasn't so good for us, Chat." she smiled at him.

"Whenever it stops being a game, you know whose team I'll always be on." He grinned, and both blushed lightly before exchanging a quick kiss.

And then there was another nascent couple that had some clearing up to do.

"Umm… Alix… I'm really sorry about that first kiss..."

"Oh, are you?" She raised her eyebrow.

He couldn't read Alix's tone correctly. Was she angry with him?

"Er…" Max was searching for his words as Alix interrupted him.

"Heh, don't worry. It doesn't count," she said dismissively.

"But… ?"

"Quit moping, it doesn't count. Not a real kiss."

"But I…"

"I said..." she insisted, her tone rising. Then suddenly she grabbed Max and drew out a deep kiss.

"... it doesn't count. But this one does."

Max was left stunned as Alix grinned like a cat that had stolen the cream.

"Since you saved my life, I'm going to let that one slide."

Max's dazed looks finally changed to a smile as he finally knew how Alix felt about this.

"But since you saved my life too… Do I get to kiss you in gratitude?"

"You'll never know until you try it." She winked at him.

"I have to warn you, I've heard relationships based on intense experiences never work."

"We'll have to base it on kisses, then."

Juleka and Rose looked at them happily.

"They are perfect together!" Rose said as she dug herself into Juleka's arm.

Up on the roof, a trio of superheroes were meeting to celebrate their victory and to discuss all that had happened.

"Well, that was a really close call, Chat..."

"That's the lesson for me, Ladybug. I should never stray too far from your side."

Chat took her hand and slowly placed a gentle kiss over it.

"Indeed, you shouldn't," Gecko intervened. "United you stand, divided you fall. It's the love that binds you two together. True love transcends it all."

As she paced toward Chat Noir, Gecko morphed into Ladybug's form.

"Now, is it me you love, Chat Noir? Which one of us would that be?"

"Oh, I'll never get used to having two Ladybugs around," he called, as both he and the real Ladybug giggled.

"What about you, Ladybug?" Gecko turned towards her as she morphed into Chat Noir's form.

Before she even realized what was going on though, she found Ladybug extremely close up and personal with her.

"I hope you didn't tell him about us, Chat… you know, about the secret promise we've made?"

The real Chat Noir could barely control his fits of laughter and Gecko morphed back into her canonical form.

"Mask or otherwise… you two are simply meant for each other. And I really shouldn't be a third wheel, so I'm just gonna leave you two and-"

Ladybug stopped her abruptly.

"Not so fast… What about you, Gecko? Speaking of love… do you remember your promise to me?"

"Promise? Do you mean… oh, ummm…"

 _I hope she doesn't mean..._

"'You'll have my word we'll discuss it afterwards.'" Ladybug reminded her, "Those were your words. Guess 'afterwards' is now."

 _No… Commander, not a good time..._

Gecko averted her look and sighed gently while looking down and away.

"Unlike you two, my love life is a bit more complex. _Amour chassé-croisé,_ ha-ha..." She replied, with a slight and unconvincing chuckle.

Chat snorted, stifling a laugh. Even Ladybug couldn't help but smile.

"Jokes aren't getting you out of this one, Gecko."

Gecko turned her head and looked back at Ladybug with half a smile.

"What can I say, commander, I'm like an open book to you." She turned her head away again.

Ladybug still managed a slight chuckle, before the smile faded from her face.

"Chat…" she paused. "I don't think she's joking."

"Ladybug-"

A quick hand movement hushed Chat, as Ladybug took two small paces forward.

"But… Gecko, you have it all. Fame, fortune, superpowers… you could be anything for anyone you'd want! How could-"

"Well, that's all…" Gecko tried to protest, in vain, just as Ladybug seemed to dawn upon something.

"Unless… unless it's not about you, after all."

Ladybug's voice wavered a bit as she continued.

"It's Natsuru, isn't it? Did he…"

Ladybug paused shortly and gulped.

"Did he leave his love in America, so you could be here with us?"

Gecko turned her head back again and stared blankly at Ladybug.

"It all fits. Natsuru's akumatized form was separating lovers, sending them far away… just like his love, which he left behind in America! For you!"

The deafening silence was broken by three slow hand claps from Gecko.

"You got me, commander. It's all my fault, that he's separated from his love. I'm nothing but a selfish being, unable to repay his kindness in like."

There was another long pause. Gecko could see how Ladybug's eyes were judging her response.

"No. You're not. I know you better by now, you are genuinely far too kind and there is so much trust between you two. It's impossible."

"You don't know me or what I'm capable of, commander."

 _No… commander… stop pushing this,_ _ **please**_ _!_

"Gecko, you're a superheroine, I know exactly-"

And with that, Ladybug just froze in place. As if something just settled in place all too neatly yet all too unnervingly.

"Normal human lives... can't align with superhero ones..." She mumbled, almost absentmindedly.

"Oh no… Alya! if only you had known!"

"Commander?"

Gecko gave Ladybug a puzzled look, which was returned with one of disbelief. As if she was still trying to come to terms with whatever she had just figured out.

"So, Gecko…" Ladybug spoke cautiously. "Natsuru's love… the one he was akumatized over... she isn't far away, is she?"  
Gecko nodded and buried her face in her hands.

 _Commander, you can stop now._  
"And that thing… that thing you could never do…"

 _Please don't make me cry, Commander._

"… that thing you'd trade everything for…"

 _I've cried too long into my pillow over this._

"is to hug him tight, with both of your arms… and never let go."  
Gecko's soft whimper was all the confirmation Ladybug needed.

Ladybug's thoughts raced as she watched Gecko curl into a little ball and sob.

 _So..._

 _All this time…_

 _She went out of her way to make sure I share absolutely none of her own fate._

 _Neither as Marinette nor as Ladybug._

 _She wanted me to live out to the full... what she could never, ever experience._

 _Just… how much love did they share over every letter? Feeling just a bit of each other through every brush stroke?_

A/N:

Turns out the universe can play some really cruel practical jokes, huh.

Sometimes, just being able to live out your love is a privilege taken away from us.

Sometimes, we think someone has it all, when in truth, they have nothing.

Vicariousness - referring to qualities or scenarios wherein one's experiences occur through another person.

You may wish to re-read from the second half of Ch6 onwards and see how little things and gestures seem to fit in light of this.


End file.
